Swing Low
by Tsukiko hoshino
Summary: They all had their sins, each one trying to move forward in their lives. Squall changed his name and Cloud fights to be rid of Sephiroth for good. But For Tifa, redemption came in seeking for others lost and longing for the place called "Home".
1. What Was Lost

Disclaimer: Yep. I own this stuff, right along with the internet and your soul.

(For lawyers with no sense of humor, that was a joke.)

Special thanks to Love Tifs for beta-ing- and being my overall inspiration, and also the guys at the forum I frequent for inspiring me to write!

* * *

Swing Low  
By Tsukiko Hoshino

_Sometimes I'm up, and sometimes I'm down,  
(Coming for to carry me home)  
But still my soul feels heavenly bound.  
(Coming for to carry me home)  
- Swing Low, Sweet chariot._

* * *

She'd finally found him again, after all that searching, only for him to slip away in a flash of light.

"Gone again..." Tifa sighed, hands resting loosely by her sides. 'But at least you're finally on the right track now Cloud.' She thought, filled with hope that sometime soon he would finally be free of Sephiroth.

"What will you do now?" Sora wondered, his bright blue eyes searching hers.

"I guess I'll keep looking." Tifa mused, looking up towards the sky. It was the only thing that she could do, the thing that she'd always done. He might need her after all.

Sora rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Got any leads?" He asked. Cloud was his friend…if there was anything he could do, he would do it without hesitation.

Tifa smiled. "Don't worry." She said, her eyes shining optimistically. "Light's easy to find." She said, reaching into her pocket. "Here! This is for helping out." She flashed a look of satisfaction after finally fishing the metal charm out, and placing it in the palm of his hand.

With that done, she brushed off her hands and said "Gotta go!" before turning swiftly, and making her exit.

Cloud had a head start, but she'd catch up eventually.

"W-wait !" Sora's befuddled voice called after her. "When…did we help out?" He wondered, his voice never reaching her. 'We didn't really do anything…' His brow furrowed. "Ah well…" He shrugged, turning back to his companions.

It worried her a little that Squall had seen her earlier in the secret room. 'It doesn't seem like he told anyone though.' She mused. If he had, Yuffie would be attached to her ankle screaming and hollering. It wasn't that she didn't want to see them though. Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Squall…she wanted to see them all, but if she did, it would only make it that much more painful to go away again.

Coming home and leaving was never easy, and as much as she wanted to be with them, they weren't the only ones who needed her. They were here in Radiant Garden, safe, sound, and together.

Cloud was out there all alone. 'He's not the only one either.' She reminded herself.

How many people had been displaced from Radiant Garden after its fall? How many hadn't returned since it had been liberated, since things had returned to normal?

When the universe had been restored to order, she hadn't been brought back like the others for some reason. So there must have been other cases like hers. Or that's what she thought.

There had to be people out there, far from home, longing to return. They might not even know it was okay to come back or maybe they just didn't know the way. So she had to find them. It was her form ofpenance; Squall had changed his name not long ago as a way to repent for his own failures. Searching for survivors was her way of making amends.

For not being strong enough, for not being fast enough.

'It's not easy.' Tifa admitted, making her way towards the Town's hanger where her ship was waiting. 'But then it isn't supposed to be.'

Her shoes thumped against the pavement as she made her way towards the hanger.

"You were really going to leave just like that?" A male voice called out to her.

"Ah!" Tifa sighed, pausing in her stride, "I've been caught." She stated guiltily, turning to look at the speaker. "Squall…" She began, hands moving to her hips.

There was a snort, as the man held up his own hands. "Save the lecture." He smiled slightly. "And it's _Leon_." He stressed.

"I wasn't going to give a lecture…" Her nose wrinkled when Leon looked at her unconvinced. "Okay, maybe a little one." Tifa admitted with a mischievous smile, pinching her thumb and pointer together to signify the size.

Leon shook his head for a moment. "You haven't changed at all." He mused, feeling relieved as he held up a paper bag. "Here, these are for you." He said thrusting it towards her.

A startled look crossed Tifa's face when he held the bag filled with produce out to her. "What are these for?" A sable colored brow arched.

"You needed them." Came his short bland reply.

A split second passed before understanding dawned on her. "You broke into my ship!" She accused with a smile, snatching the bag from him. "You really do care, I'm almost shocked." Tifa joked.

"Hnn." Leon replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Companionable silence passed between them for a moment, each one studying the other. Tifa was the one to break it. "I suppose that since there isn't a mini militia here, you didn't mention to anyone else you'd seen me?" She wondered, looking off to the side.

"No." He admitted, leaning against the wall. "Not yet."

A smile quirked her lips, "Were you going to try bribing me with groceries first?"

Leon snorted, rolling his eyes. "No…I was just hoping you'd change you're mind on your own." He answered. In truth, the groceries had been an excuse to check up on her. He thought that maybe if he reminded her enough, he could get her to stay, if only for a while.

Tifa bit her lip. "You're just trying to make this harder." All the cheer drained from her in an instant. "You know I want to see them. You know that I want to stay." She missed Aerith's gentle smile, Yuffie's energetic disposition, Squall's quiet acceptance, and the way Cid always made her tea, thinking it'd cure all ails.

It all made her heart ache to the point of bursting. 'But I can't stay.' She reminded herself firmly.

"Cloud's not the only one who needs you." Leon pointed out to her, a frown painted in place. "Yuffie, and the others miss you." Once, they had all been alone together. They'd formed a family, but something had happened, and Cloud had disappeared, with Tifa following shortly after.

"We could use your help here too." Rebuilding their homes, their family, and their lives.

A sad, haunted look passed over her face. "It isn't just about Cloud you know. There are others out there too." She looked up towards the huge glass panes that showed the heavens. "It's my way of seeking forgiveness."

He knew that all too well. "Yea." Leon mused, closing his eyes for a moment before pushing off the wall. "You'd better get going, but don't think you're getting away Scot-free." He reminded, turning to look back at her over his shoulder. "As soon as you've cleared the hanger, I'll be telling them…and the next time, you'd better come visit."

"Right!" Tifa smiled a little sadly, throwing her free arm around him from behind. "Thanks Squall." Her voice was barely above a whisper, before she too turned and sprinted towards her Gummi ship. "I'll see you all soon!" She called after him loudly, voice filled with hope and promises.

"Yea, yea." He never turned around and he didn't admonish the use of his true name; instead a single arm was raised into the air as a farewell. "Have a safe voyage." Leon said to himself, only glancing back when he was out of sight, and the ship's engine's had roared to life.

'Telling the others is going to be a pain.' Leon sighed, a wry smile coming to life. But he knew that this was something Tifa had to do before she could rest easy. Even though Radiant Garden was alive again, the nightmares didn't just disappear. Sometimes it took a little more.

Maybe on her journey, she'd finally be set free from the things haunting her. Until then, they would all just have to wait.

In the mean time he just hoped there wouldn't be too much of a fuss.

That night the committee came together as usual, discussing what needed to be done, what concerns there were, the usual. Things went smoothly for the most part, until Cid and Merlin got into it over something or another. In other words, everything was the same as always.

"You old coot!" Were just some of the words being thrown around.

"Who are ya'calling old!" Cid's voice rebuked loudly.

"Old people fight!" Yuffie cheered, all semblance of control disappearing after that.

"Is that everything?" Leon asked over the commotion. He was in his typical place up against the wall. They were missing the usual Trio of Sora, Donald and Goofy- but that was nothing new. The kid was busy fighting the good fight and all that.

"I think so." Aerith mused tearing her eyes away; her bright green eyes had been studying him since he walked through the door. It was typical of her to always know when something was up. "Is there something else you wanted to say?" She asked a tiny smile spilling forth- almost as if she knew exactly what was going to be said.

Leon sighed and lowered his head slightly. "Tifa was here."

Despite the racket that had been occurring just moments prior, it was almost quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"When?" Yuffie's face scrunched in confusion. "And like, where is she now?" She craned her neck to look around eagerly.

"Gone." Leon replied, unfazed. There was hardly any emotion on his face at all.

"Whadd'ya mean gone?" Cid thumbed his nose.

"As in, not here anymore." He clarified. 'So much for not causing a fuss' Leon mused, watching as a few mouth's dropped open.

Yuffie's face was turning a particular shade of red as her cheeks puffed up. "She….she didn't even bother visiting. Why didn't you tell us earlier?" She snapped, her hands clenched into fists. 'That's just not fair! Why does Leon get to see her and not me?'

Leon decided not to point out that the fuss might have been part of the reason Tifa dreaded coming to see them.

Ever the peace maker, Aerith interjected, standing up to placate the girl. "I'm sure she had her reasons Yuffie…" She began, only to be cut short.

"Aw shove it!" Cid huffed, crossing his arms stubbornly. "You know you're pissed too."

Aerith huffed, and sat back down heavily. "Disappointed." She corrected him with a salty look. 'I figured she would have at least come to see_ me_.' She was after all gentle, understanding, and supportive. Really, the list could go on and on.

'It feels like so long ago since I last saw her.' Aerith mused, her hand finding its way to her heart. Once, they had been inseparable. All of them had. The orphans of Hallow Bastion had come together in Traverse Town.

The two of them had been so much alike back then; Energetic and optimistic, filled with bright shining dreams. Together they had taken the others under their wings, working to create a family. It suddenly hit home just how much she really missed her.

'Tifa…please come back soon.' Aerith pleaded. She hoped the same for Cloud too, wanting the whole family to be together again soon. 'It's true that even though the'yre not here, they're still in our hearts…but it just isn't the same. This is where they _belong_.'

"She didn't come see me either, if it's any consolation." Leon said, breaking Aerith from her thoughts. "I had to go find her just before she left." His arms crossed over his chest. "I know it's hard to accept…but Tifa…and Cloud have things they have to settle."

Aerith frowned. "I guess that's true…" But she so wished they'd realize they didn't have to do it alone.

Yuffie on the other hand shot him a dirty look. "You still kept it a secret."

It hurt that Tifa hadn't come to see her too. Once not too long ago, even if sometimes it felt like forever, they had all been together just after the fall of Radiant Garden; they had been a family.

Aerith and Tifa sharing the roll of mother, cooking meals and washing clothes, making sure everyone was tucked into their own beds at night.

Yuffie had been much younger than the others, barely able to remember the events leading up to their arrival in Traverse Town…but what she did remember, was that Tifa was the one who'd she'd bonded with the most.

Tifa was the one she'd always ran to at night when she was scared. She was also the one who'd taught her the basics of fighting.

Something changed though, and she disappeared along with Cloud a while ago. Sometimes they would show up every now and then, but it never lasted for long.

To this day, no one knew what had happened…except maybe Aerith, but she never said anything about it.

The one thing she knew for sure though was that it always hurt saying goodbye to Tifa. 'Why can't you just stay?' Yuffie wondered, biting her lip. Who cared about Spiky? He was a jerk to Tifa.

Not to mention he never brought her any presents. At least Tifa did that much.

"Can't be helped I suppose." Cid mused, nodding his head more to himself, as he sipped the tea Merlin set in front of him.

"Aren't you mad?" Yuffie wondered, leaning her chin into the palm of her hand.

"Of course I am ya'brat." The pilot sniffed. "But what do you suppose we do, tie the girl to a chair next time we see her?"

That was exactly what Yuffie was thinking. "Uh…of course not. That'd be silly, right?" She mumbled more to herself.

Cid rolled his eyes. 'Crazy kid.' He missed the girl just as much as anybody else. They were all like his kids for heaven's sake. 'Every parent has to learn to let their kids fly though.' He mused. 'Sides, I gotta feeling the girl will be back soon.' The next time, she better bring her ass around to see him too, or there was going to be trouble.

He'd make her a cup of tea; he'd sit her down, and tell her to let that spiky haired punk down in his own vomit. Kid didn't know what he was missing. "She say when she's coming back 'round again?" Cid questioned, pale blue eyes studying Leon's face.

"Soon." Leon said, pushing away from the wall. "Who knows what that means though?" He shrugged, making his way towards the door. "But knowing her, it won't be too long from now."

"Yea," Yuffie shouted, standing abruptly enough to knock over her chair. "And when she does, let's have a big party!"

Aerith giggled, covering her mouth. "I think it's a great idea…what about you Leon?"

"Do whatever you guys like." He responded, apathetic as usual. "Just don't let it cost me an arm and a leg." Leon said on an afterthought.

Yuffie's grin was starting to creep him out, so he left.

"I feel like…we're all going to be together again soon." Aerith murmured, closing her eyes.

"Yea…me too." Yuffie nodded her head.

"Aww, shut your traps and drink your damn tea." Cid rolled his eyes, turning back to his computer. "Girls and their _feelings."_ He mumbled to himself, typing away loudly.

Time passed differently when you were in space. There was no sun or moon to tell you what time it was. There was just your body and mind's intuition to go by. Time on other worlds was different too. When she'd first started out on her journey, a few years ago it had been really hard.

After the first week, she'd bought a pocket watch, and set it to Traverse Town's time. This week she'd changed it to Radiant Garden's time.

It was a reminder. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, they were still with her.

Being alone on a gummi ship for hours on end left her with a lot of time to reminisce; about the good things and the bad things too.

In the end, after staring out at the vastness around her, she decided to think about the first time she ever saw such a sight.

The night Radiant Garden had fallen.

_Those things with yellow eyes had come, and her parents had disappeared. But for the moment it seemed as though they were avoiding her. It was like they were scared to come too close. The last one that tried had been ripped to shreds by a streak of light and a fist to its face. 'No matter what…you have to go on.' The memory of her mother's words pushed her forward._

_Tifa wouldn't forgive them for taking her parents away, no matter what. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she was going to get there._

_"Mama?" A small frightened voice called out. It was the girl from next door. Yuffie._

_"Yuffie!" Tifa called out to her, rushing forward to grab the girl's hand. "Where is your mother?" She asked, looking around._

_The small girl only sniffled as big, fat tears began rolling down her face. "G-gone…."_

___'The same thing happened to her too.' Tifa bit her lip and looked towards the direction her parents had told her to go if something happened earlier. "Come on." She said, smiling weakly at the younger girl. Somehow, everything was going to be okay. They just had to find a way out of here._

___Those strange creatures her parents had called the Heartless where everywhere though, and soon they'd been surrounded. "Just…stay behind me!" Tifa clenched her hands into fists. 'Do it just like master Zangan taught you." She reminded herself._

___Yuffie's bawling wasn't making it easy to concentrate, but somehow she managed to take down most of the things with just scrapes and bruises. One got the better of her though; it was much bigger and easily knocked her to the side and into a stack of crates._

___"Tifa!" A pair of familiar voices called out as someone pulled her from the debris._

___"You okay?" A gruff man with blond hair wondered, as he set her back on her feet._

___Tifa swayed slightly but nodded her head. "I'm okay." She said, looking around quickly, wincing when a stab of pain sent her to her knees."Ah…" A gentle hand rested on her back, and Tifa looked up to meet blue eyes. "Cloud…" She said, a smile coming to her face._

_____Cloud was the boy who lived a little ways down the street from her house with his mother. He was quiet, but always very polite. Sometimes they played together._

_____Wait…something wasn't right. Where was Yuffie?_

_____"Is Yuffie okay?" She asked, realizing the little girl wasn't crying anymore._

_____"That brat? She's fine." Cid wrinkled his nose, and jerked his head to the left. "Princess over there's got her." He said, pointing to the little girl in the pale pink dress._

_____Cloud frowned, and motioned towards his face. "You're bleeding." He said, glancing away and pointing to his forehead. "Right there."_

_____"Heh…I see you two know one another." The older man said, thumbing his nose. "Right along with Snarky over there I suppose." He said jabbing a thumb in Squall's direction. "Guess that'd explain why they got so upset when they saw ya' get tossed."_

_____"Squall, you're here too?" Tifa looked towards the older boy; he was the son of one of the soldiers for the castle._

_____Squall simply crossed his arms, the same way he always did."Yea." He said simply, eyes darting around as if expecting to be attacked at any moment._

_____Sensing her confusion, Cloud opened his mouth. "That guy is Cid…we ran into him." He explained motioning towards the man who'd picked her out of the broken crates._

_____"Here, drink this up, and you'll be good as new." Cid said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a vial and hand it to her. "Don't taste too good, but it does the trick." He paused only a second. "Where are your parents?" He questioned, but by the look in his eyes, it was as if he already knew._

_____Tifa lowered her eyes and quietly accepted the bottle. "Gone." She said simply._

_____A hiss escaped Cid's clenched teeth. "Damn these little fu-never mind." He cut short, mumbling to himself. "Well it can't be helped." He said after a moment. "Let's get moving you little punks." He called, motioning for them to follow._

_____"Where are we going?" Squall questioned, as the oldest in the group._

_____"Outta this place, before it really goes to hell in a hand basket." Cid responded, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it._

_____"Those things can kill you." The girl in the pink dress mentioned, as they all fell into step behind him._

_____Another snort escaped Cid. "Yea, yea, so I've heard." He waved his hand dismissively. In his other hand he held a spear, which every now and then was used to thwart the heartless._

_____The girl simply tsked, before turning her attention else where. "My name is Aerith by the way." She smiled at Tifa. Yuffie reached out with her free hand and grabbed onto Tifa. "She was really worried about you, you know." Aerith said, nodding towards the youngest of their little group._

_____"It's nice to meet you." Tifa gave a tiny, weak smile back in return. She was tired, and scared. 'How can she be so calm?' She wondered. Even Squall and Cloud were more tense then usual. "I'm Tifa." She added after a moment._

_____"I know silly." Aerith smiled. "Cloud told me so." She explained glancing towards the blond who was busy looking else where."I asked if you were his girlfriend."_

_____Tifa's eyes went wide. "W-what?"_

_____"Aerith!" Cloud's face was the same shade of red as her mother lipstick used to be._

_____"Hehe…don't get so worked up Cloud!" Aerith laughed. "I was just joking." Even though she was scared too, dwelling on it wasn't going to make things any better. So she did her best to lighten the mood. "You knew that right Tifa?" She smiled towards the other girl._

_____Tifa nodded her head, a slight pink still tinting her face. "Y-yea.."_

_____"Would the lot of ya shudup?" Cid snapped glancing towards them. "It's awfully hard being sneaky when you're yapping."_

_____"Sorry!" The combined voices of Tifa, Aerith and Cloud called out._

_____Tifa found herself wondering if it would ever end. Would the sun ever rise again? She didn't want to think about something like that, but she couldn't stop herself._

_____Soon they were standing in front of a huge airship, with Cid ushering them aboard._

_____"What about everyone else?" Tifa asked as he shut the hatch._

_____"Be happy I managed to save your sorry hides!" Cid huffed, making his way towards the cockpit. "Now…I outta let you guys know, this is a new type of ship, so there ain't no guarantee it's going to work." His lips curled into a grin. "But it's gonna be a'helluva ride!"_

_____There were a series of clicks and beeps as Cid fiddled around with the controls._

_____Even though they were children, they knew that if they stayed, they'd end up like the others they'd lost. There was no choice but to hope the ship worked._

_____"Get in your seats and buckle the hell up!" Their resident Pilot glanced back at them. He'd already buckled himself in securely. "There ain't no time to be fooling around, we gotta go now!"_

_____Looking around at one another dubiously, they all picked one of the overly large chairs to sit in. Tifa hoisted Yuffie into her seat, and buckled the lethargic girl in. "I guess it has been a long night, huh?" she spoke softly to the little girl, patting her on the head._

_____"Hurry and get in your damn seat girl!" Cid snapped as the ship began shaking, its engines roaring to life._

_____Tifa nodded and clambered into her own seat, buckling it without ceremony._

_____Taking off felt like having all the air sucked out of your lungs, like every organ in your body was trying to migrate north. There were surprised shrieks and sickly groans for the next few moments, and Tifa was pretty sure Cid was hollering like a kid in a candy store._

_____Tifa on the other hand, simply kept her eyes tightly screwed shut. Her heart felt as though it were thumping away in her throat._

_____It wasn't until she heard the others begin speaking again that she opened her eyes._

_____"I think I'm going to be sick." Cloud moaned, leaning over towards his right._

_____"Don't do it on me!" Squall hissed, shoving his head towards the left._

_____Yuffie wasn't looking so hot either, even though just moments before she'd been half asleep. "It's okay." Tifa rubbed her back._

_____"There are sick bags on the side of your seats. Don't be throwing up on the damn floor." Cid called back to them. "And you can unbuckle now, but don't be getting into stuff…" He mumbled to himself. 'Now lets see what this baby can do!' He thought to himself, tinkering with the controls._

_____There was a lot of fumbling made by Squall to get Cloud a paper bag. If it had been any other kind of night, then the one she'd experience, maybe it actually would have been funny to watch._

_____Instead she just sighed and leaned her head back against the seat._

_____"Tifa, come take a look at this." Aerith called, waving her over. She'd already unbuckled and made her way towards the cockpit, looking out from behind Cid's chair._

_____Tifa followed suit, unbuckling and making her own way towards the wide windows. "Wow…" Once more, her breath caught. Outside the window were millions of stars fixed against the inky black of space._

_____"Amazing, ain't it?" Cid wondered, crossing his arms in satisfaction. "I bet you kids didn't know this, but out there, there are millions of other worlds."_

_____"Do you think anyone else made it out?" Aerith wondered._

_____"I'd like to think so." Cid admitted, turning his attention from them, to back out the window. "There were a few other prototype ships like this. So, let's hope they made good use of um…now get back to your seats, you're bugging me." He thumbed his nose._

_____Aerith smiled and grabbed Tifa's hand. "Let's leave this grouch alone." She joked, guiding her back to the other seats._

_____Cloud's motion sickness seemed to have abated for the moment, his own eyes looking up towards the cockpit apprehensively._

_____"How…can you be so happy," Squall began, glancing over at pink clothed Aerith. "After everything that happened?" he asked._

_____Aerith looked towards the ceiling. "Because...moping won't do anyone any good." She stated simply. "If we spend all our time thinking about what we couldn't change…we'll never be able to make any change."_

_____"I guess that's true." Tifa admitted. Even though she was scared now that her parents were gone, she didn't feel alone. Biting her lip, she wondered if that was wrong of her. "Besides…as long as we're not alone…everything will be okay." She assured herself._

_____"Right!" Aerith smiled. "We've all got one another now."_

_____"Yea.." Cloud agreed quietly._

_____Squall crossed his arms. "I guess."_

_____Tifa looked towards the dozing Yuffie and smiled._

_____Maybe this…was the start of a new family. She couldn't bring back her mother or her father, but she could make them proud wherever they__ were._

_______After taking her own seat once again they all slipped into a comfortable silence, each one lost in their own thoughts._

_______What would happen to them now? Where would they go? What had those creatures been, and where would they come from? Would they ever see their parents again?_

_______There were so many questions racing through their minds, none of them with an easy one._

_______It didn't take them long to fall asleep, they were only children after all. Their dreams were restless and uneasy, filled with shadows and the memories that would haunt them for many years to come._

_______When they'd woken up they'd already arrived in Traverse Town, a place where people who'd lost their worlds always found their way too. Somehow, Cid just knew where to go. He couldn't explain it any better then the rest of them._

As if waking from a dream, her Claret colored eyes opened slowly, drinking in the sight before her.

Looking back on it now, Tifa wondered if there really was such a thing as coincidence. It didn't seem like it. The way all of them had been brought together that night, and what happened in the years to follow all seemed too perfect to be such a thing.

Fate, destiny, providence, whatever you wanted to call it had brought them all together for a purpose. "And I'm counting on it to bring us all back together again." Tifa said, looking out over the new world that appeared before her.

* * *

Alright! Finally managed the first chapter, Cloud doesn't show up at all, unless we count his mentions and flashback self. If you guys are really paying attention you'll see lots of references to other things. Like Aerith asking if Tifa was Cloud's girlfriend.  
If I had to pick what I was most proud of this chapter, it'd be Cid. I think he's about spot on and hilarious. Leon- er ,Squall was a little hard for me, but I think I managed. Aerith wasn't so easy either…KH Aerith is a lot different from FF7 Aerith in my opinion.  
What I'm least proud of, is that this chapter seems a bit boring to me. I hope it's not boring for everyone else though.

Cloud will be in the next chapter, along with the world Tifa is visiting, and some more past reveals.

Hope you guys enjoyed, don't forget to review though!


	2. Beyond The Laughing Sky

**Disclaimer:**I own nothing portrayed in this, unless stated otherwise.

Big thanks to all the reviewers, and my Beta Love Tifa!

* * *

Swing Low**  
By**_**:**__Tsukiko Hoshino_

* * *

_Why does the whispering wind, sound like a lullaby?  
Is that the magic music from beyond the laughing sky?_

_Where do the__ c__louds disappear, when they go rolling by?  
I'm wondering about the world, beyond the laughing sky._

_-Beyond The laughing Sky__  
_

* * *

After stepping out of the ship, it didn't take long to register the lack of ground under her feet.

She was falling down, down into the darkness.

The lack of gravity had her heart leaping and stomach twisting volatile, the dark only made her panic grow. Her hands clawed frantically at the air, searching for something, anything to grab hold on, but she never screamed. The sound stuck in her throat, only coming out as a short, sharp gasp.

In those first few excruciatingly long, frightening moments, Tifa cursed herself for not looking before she leapt. 'Great start, Teef.' She congratulated herself sardonically.

'Wait…' She thought to herself, opening her eyes slowly. In her panic, she hadn't noticed the speed of her fall. It was slow, and steady, her body gently gliding down. The darkness was another problem all together. "There isn't much I can do about that now is there?" Tifa sighed, tucking a hand under her chin, finally able to relax. "I can't see a thing in here without a light." She said, peering into the abyss, disappointment marring her face.

Drifting down lazily, a flicker of light shimmered to life in an old fashioned oil lamp. The pale yellow glow illuminated her surroundings, parting the veil of darkness.

"How strange." Tifa murmured to her self, taking in the floating furniture. It was everywhere, and every which way. Upside down fire places, regal grandfather clocks, and so on and so forth. "I hope I'm not breaking and entering anyone house." That would certainly cause unnecessary trouble.

The soft glow of lamplight slowly faded into a brighter vision. Soon, the ground was clear and insight. Tifa landed easily on her feet and looked around curiously. "I suppose, I can't go back the way I came." She said hands on her hips as she turned to look at the only other direction available. "I guess straight ahead is the only way to go!"

With that said, she let her feet guide her across the black and white floor, strolling through the adjoined narrow hall way.

"This place certainly has no shortage of doors!" Tifa heaved a sigh of annoyance as she began opening and closing the doors. Some of them didn't even lead anywhere, except into the wall. Others were locked. |

When she finally found one that opened it lead into a room. 'Surprise! Another door, just what I wanted.' Tifa thought wryly. "Out of all the places I've been to, this place is the strangest!" She decided, opening the door, only to find another, and another, until finally she reached the last door.

One that actually led somewhere.

"And here I was thinking I'd be stuck here forever." Tifa wiped a bead of sweat off her brow. "Whew." She'd dodged a bullet on that one. "Now let's see what we have here…" She said, walking into the room. Carefully she glanced around, looking at the knickknacks on the shelves.

It wasn't long until she heard a familiar noise-the noise Heartless made. That snake like hiss. Peering out of the corner of her eye, she could see them slithering along the walls, stealthily coming closer.

"Sorry, but not today." Tifa said, moving to the side quickly as one leaped into the air. Her fist caught it in the face, pummeling it into a wall. It disappeared in a cloud of darkness. "You guys will have to do better then this!" She cried, her body going through the well learned and practiced motions. Years of well learned lessons and natural talent allowed her to decimate them easily.

Even so, it was a relief that Heartless had been appearing less and less in the last few years. On the other hand there was a larger occurrence of Nobodies. Getting rid of them weighed her with a sad feeling. Heartless or a Nobody, once they could have been people too. Destroying them might mean that they could never be returned to the people they once were. There wasn't much of a choice in the matter though.

"Wonderful job!" A voice from down below called, accentuated by a loud yawn.

"Huh?" Tifa wondered, looking around. The room was empty, besides a too small door, and some furniture.

A laugh followed, and the voice called again. "Down here!"

"A doorknob!" Tifa cried in surprise, kneeling on the floor to get a better look.

"Why yes." It replied.

Tifa cupped her jaw thoughtfully. "Are there many talking objects in this world?" She wondered.

"How should I know? I'm a doorknob." He said jovially.

'A talking doorknob to be exact' Tifa thought to herself, shaking her head. "If I may ask, is there another way through, and do you happen to know where I can find some people?"

The doorknob gave a wide yawn. "Why don't you just take a sip out of the blue bottle up there, and go to the Queen? She's sure to point you in the right direction." He looked up towards the table. "But be quick about it, those things were making such a ruckus, I could scarcely sleep!"

There were two bottles on the table, sitting rather inconspicuously, also accompanied by a key. "I suppose it's a good idea to use this first isn't it?" She wondered to herself, picking up the key and bottle, staring at the former skeptically. "Well…I suppose there isn't much of a choice." She spoke to herself, uncorking it.

"Well…bottoms up." Tifa said, taking a small sip. The taste was strange, a mixture of many things- but not altogether unpleasant. What was even stranger was the feeling of shrinking. It was hard to describe, if she could choose anything to compare it to, it would be like shutting a telescope. 'Everything is so much larger…' Tifa thought glancing at the now towering structures.

The key had been dropped in her shrinking, now it was almost the same size as her, but with her strength, it was relatively easy to lift and lug over to the door.

"No need." The door chuckled. "I'm already unlocked." He said, clicking open.

Tifa groaned mentally. 'Do I have to carry this all the way back up to the table?' Even with her strength, it would be awkward. On the other hand, not doing it would be rather rude.

"Not to worry!" The doorknob said, as the key disappeared from her hands in a flurry of light, followed by what she assumed was its reappearance on the table. "This is Wonderland after all." He chuckled. "Now hurry through so I can get some rest. "

"Where might the queen be?" Tifa asked, pausing with her hand on the wall. Charging through unprepared wouldn't be very wise.

"Why, in her castle of course! Now do hurry through." The doorknob replied, yawning once more.

Not wanting to trouble him much more, she thanked him, and stepped through to the unknown.

Bright, warm sunshine hit her in the eyes dead on, causing her to shield her eyes for a look around. "Oh my." Tifa gasped, looking up towards the towering grass and flowers. It was a beautiful sight, but it made her worry. At this size she'd be easy pickings. "It'd be best to find my way back to normal size as soon as possible." She said walking along, keeping her eyes peeled.

Other than the size issue, the walk was rather pleasant- filled with things she'd never seen before. 'Bread and butterflies whoever imagined such a thing?' She thought staring at them with a childlike sense of wonder. So far she had come across no one to ask for directions, so she found her thoughts drifting off lazily.

Right now, everyone would be sitting down to breakfast; Cid would have his morning tea, Leon would drink his coffee black, while Aerith stood over the stove, combating Yuffie's disastrous attempts to help. If they were home, she'd be at the stove helping Aerith, while Leon and Cloud discussed plans for the day. Yuffie would interrupt, and suggest they all do something wild, and out of the ordinary. They would all laugh and tease one another.

Times like those, she missed the most. That warm familiar atmosphere, the feeling of belonging, and being needed.

Memories of them were engraved in her heart, her mind forever. Tifa wouldn't have it any other way either. When times were hard, or when she was at her loneliest, even whenever there was a free moment she thought about them. Times like now.

_The house they resided in was small, with only two bedrooms and one bathroom with the basic kitchen and living room, but it was enough for them._

_On their first few days together, they quickly learned who was adept at what. The first morning Cid tried to cook them breakfast and failed miserable. After a lot of laughter from everyone except the grumpy pilot, Tifa quietly took the pan- amusement playing on her face as she pushed a small crate over to the stove to stand on._

_Cid watched warily as the young girl with chestnut hair went through the motions of making eggs, Her eyes for a moment seemed so far away._

_Aerith learned her head into the palm of her hand in curiosity. "Amazing." She said, smiling. "Tifa's so young, but she cooks better than Cid!" She giggled._

_"Hmph." Cid crossed his arms. "Shud'up and drink your tea." At least he could make tea right._

_Yuffie scrunched up her nose, and pushed the drink in front of her away. "Yucky." She said. "Don't want it."_

_"What'dya mean yucky?" Cid huffed. "It's good for ya."_

_Squall-or rather Leon as he'd decided to go by from now on rolled his eyes. "Most four year olds don't like unsweetened tea." He said simply sipping his own cup quietly._

_"No accounting for taste." Cid snorted, pouring the tea in Yuffie's__ s__ippy cup into Cloud's recently emptied one. "There you go." He said, grinning at the sour look that crossed the__ b__londe's face. 'Didn't think I saw you pour it out, now did'ya?' He thought to himself._

_"It'll make you grow big and strong Shorty." Cid chuckled, pausing to ruffle Cloud's hair before filling Yuffie's cup with milk and setting it back in front of her._

_"Thanks." Cloud said dryly. 'I'm not that short…am I?' He wondered to himself, licking his pride quietly. "Isn't it milk that does that though?" he wondered more to himself._

_Cid shrugged, and poured some milk into Cloud's tea. "There, happy now?" He smirked._

_'I didn't ask for that in the first place.' Cloud sighed, and simply nodded, nursing his cup of tea dutifully. No use in arguing._

_For a while to room was silent, as Tifa continued cooking, moving on from eggs to bacon effortlessly. She was there physically, but miles away in every other way. She thought of her mother, with the bright smile in the mornings and nights. She thought of the taste of the breakfast she'd be greeted with every morning. She thought of her father, and the crinkling of the newspaper across the table as she ate._

_They were gone now though, the smell of coffee was replaced by freshly brewed tea , and the smile no longer anywhere to be seen._

_"Did your mother teach you?" Cid wondered peering over her shoulder. It was his voice, and the faint smell of cigarettes that broke her out of those thoughts._

_"Huh?" Tifa wondered blinking slowly and then shaking her head. "Y-yea…" She said finally, brows furrowing. "It's probably not as good as hers though." She admitted._

_Cid looked down at the eggs. "Naw." He said finally. "Even so, she'd be damn proud, of such a competent kid, unlike those lazy bums.." A teasing smile twisted onto his lips as he jerked a thumb towards the table. "If we didn't have you, we'd probably starve." He grumped reminiscing on his own failed breakfast scheme._

_"Hey, being lazy and lacking knowledge are two different things!" Aerith whined, crossing her arms for a moment. "Tifa, teach me to cook too!" She cried, palms placed against the surface of the table determinedly._

_A warm feeling spread through Tifa. "Okay!" She said, a smile slowly blooming. It wouldn't do any good thinking about yesterday, or the day before- when she was needed today._

_Even though, she felt that way, sometimes those feelings crept up on her in the dead of night, when it was quiet and dark._

_On a night like this, the moon was full and round hanging outside their window._

_She'd woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and crying into her pillow quietly. She couldn't forget the terror of feeling her mother's hand fading into nothing in her own._

_Sometimes, she was jealous of Aerith, for what seemed like an endlessly optimistic view. There were moments so brief, Tifa hardly could count them, that the older girl looked afar with a gaze of sorrow, but then she would smile. A smile filled with an abundance of hope and promise._

_Sniffling quietly, she pressed her face against her knees, doing her best to muffle the sounds. If Yuffie woke up, no one would get any rest._

_Somehow, without even realizing it, they had slipped into a routine. None of them slept easily, often plagued by nightmares. At first it was something they hid from one another, each one wanting to be strong, each one wanting to shoulder their burdens all on their own._

_The mattress dipped beneath her lightly, as warm arms encircled her. Aerith didn't say anything as she let the younger girl cry against her. When those quiet heartfelt sobs left Tifa with only the occasional hiccup, she finally spoke. "It's okay you know, to cry." Aerith said, a peaceful look painted on her face. "You don't have to hide those tears."_

_Wiping her eyes, Tifa bit her lip. "What about you? Sometimes, when you think no one is looking, you too look sad." She said, looking down at her hands._

_"Hah…" A sheepish smile spread over Aerith's lips. "Yea…I guess I should follow my own advice." She admitted, looking out towards the moon.__" When __you're sad…you can come to me, you know." She said after a moments pause._

_Tifa smiled slowly. "Then, when you're sad, you can definitely count on me." She said gravely._

_Aerith giggled, covering her mouth. "Don't sound so serious." She said, but in her eyes, gratitude shone. "Tifa…Let's be good friends." She said finally, taking the other girl's hand in hers._

_"Yea…" Tifa said softly gazing out at the moon with sleepy eyes. Gently she laid her head on Aerith's shoulder, humming quietly to herself._

_'Like…a mother's lullaby.' Aerith thought to herself, laying her own head against Tifa's once more. Her eyes slowly sliding shut. The truth was, many nights since arriving she often laid awake, unable to sleep from fear of the things that haunted her in those dreaded dreams. She wanted to be strong though, so she hid those lonely, sad, and lost feelings, doing her very best to lock them away inside._

_'In the end though, it didn't help at all.' Aerith realized now, keeping those feelings to herself didn't lessen them or make them go away. Instead it'd only become worse. She wondered if it had been the same for Tifa too. In the end though, she couldn't muster the energy to ask, she was already slowly drifting away. That gentle lullaby sweeping away the painful feelings for now._

_All that mattered now was that it was going to be alright. When she was sad, or scared…she had someone to confide in._

_Tifa's humming slowed to a stop, as both children drifted to sleep in the tender moonlight._

_In the morning when the first light of day peeked over the horizon, Cid peered in on them, as he always did- once in the morning, and once at night when he knew they were all sleep. Sometimes he woke up half scared that those things had carried them off too. But every morning they would be tucked into their beds and in some cases already up. Squall, Leon- whatever he wanted to be called always woke up with the sun._

_A smile spread over his face. Moments like this, when no one was watching, a feeling of tenderness washed over him. He never fancied himself as a guy for kids, but in his heart there was a soft spot for them after all._

_Especially when they looked so damn cute, all cuddled up like that. Thumbing his nose, he decided waking them up would be a shame. This time- He'd cook breakfast for them- and do his damndest to make it edible._

_Watching as they gently stirred from their slumber, he closed the curtains, shutting out the sun and left the room._

_As he sauntered down the hall he began humming a jaunty tune to himself._

Laughter broke her from her reverie. Tifa looked around slowly. "Is anyone there?" She asked.

"Why of course dear." A voice called from her left, but as far as Tifa could see, there were only flowers. "Up here." A rose in full bloom said kindly, bending slightly for a better view.

"Oh don't talk to it!" An iris said, hissing quietly as though to avoid being heard by the IT in mention. "It might be a weed!"

After the initial shock wore off, Tifa had a very strong hunch she was the supposed weed. "Me-a weed?" She scoffed. "I'll have to disagree."

The iris sniffed indignantly. "That's what they all say." A leaf shooed her along. "Hurry up and be gone!"

"Now wait just a moment!" Tifa cried, moving out of reach to speak to the rose. "If I may ask, is there anyway to grow taller? I have to find the queen." She explained.

The rose looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I once heard from a butterfly, that one side of a mushroom will make you grow taller, and the other shorter. But if you just wait a few days and get plenty of sun and water, I'm sure you'll grow very quickly dear." She explained.

"Just don't do it here!" A daisy cried, its petals shaking.

Tifa huffed and decided to move along rather quickly. "Alright, alright." She mumbled, suddenly not feeling so guilty for all the flowers she'd picked in her youth, especially if the majority were like these ones. "Thanks for the help!" She bid to the rose, disappearing into the tall grass. Time was precious, and she wasn't going to waste it on them.

Not far off from the flowers she finally came across a mushroom. "Well…At this point, I think anything that happens next, would be better then being this size forever."Tifa decided, pulling a piece from each side. "Eating to much of one side could be disastrous." She huffed, nibbling a tiny bit of the right side.

It didn't taste very good, but she didn't have much time to ponder it, the change was rather abrupt and caused her to yelp. When the surprise receded, Tifa realized she was about as tall as a house!  
"Well, this is a bit too tall." Tifa mumbled to herself, licking a bit of the other side. Then the familiar, strange feeling of shrinking washed over her. "Much better…" She said, tossing the mushroom away. There was no way she was eating anything else in this crazy place.

'I've had enough shrinking and growing to last a life time- and then some.' Were the thoughts running through her mind as she let her feet guide her down a well treaded path. It took her to an intersection with many strange signs that led nowhere in particular. "This place..." Tifa smacked her palm to her forehead where a headache was beginning to form.

On the other hand, she certainly would have a story to tell everyone when she got home, of a place where nothing made much sense. "Now which way to go…" Tifa asked herself cupping her chin thoughtfully.

"That all depends on where you want to get to." A voice spoke from above, accompanied by humming.

"Oh great! A talking tree now?" Tifa groaned running a hand down her face. 'Does it ever end?'

The voice chuckled in amusement. "Oh no, just a talking cat." The voice replied, a wide grin appearing in the darkness. It's strange perfectly white teeth providing an eerie contrast. One by one, two eyes dropped down to accompany it. "A Cheshire cat to be exact." He explained, pink strips slowly winding in midair to form his body.

"Oh my." Tifa said, eyes widening in amazement. "So you are." She said after a moment. "Would you happen to know where the Queen is?"

The Cheshire cat who had been looking at his paws rather uninterestedly perked up. "Oh why yes I do. But you wouldn't want to go to a place like that." He said, plucking his head off, startling Tifa. "You might lose your head!" He laughed, tossing it into the air.

Somehow she doubted that, but it was good to have a warning. "Don't worry." She smiled. "I'm sure I can handle whatever they throw at me."

By now the Cheshire cat had replaced his head, and hummed for a moment. "Well, all ways here are the Queen's ways." He licked a paw thoughtfully, before sweeping it through his fur. "So it stands to reason any way you take will lead to her."

Tifa couldn't find it in herself to argue. 'Everything else here is so strange, this actually makes a bit of sense.' She thought glancing back up at the cat. "I see, well thanks for the directions." Going straight was sure to lead her somewhere soon.

"Before you go…might you be looking for the other one like you?" The cat wondered, leaning its head onto a paw.

"The other one like me?" Tifa asked, jerking her attention towards the cat once more.

The cat's grin seemed to grow. "Why yes, the one from another world- like you." He purred disappearing from sight.

Tifa stiffened up when she felt the brush of a cat against her legs. "Where?" she wondered.

"That 'away." The cat said, reappearing and pointing into the woods. "But I would be careful." The grin never left his face.

"Because of the queen?" She wondered a frown marring her face.

"No, because of the jabberwocky." The cat responded, its stripes disappearing slowly.

"W-wait?" Tifa cried, confusion reflecting in her eyes. "What's a jabberwocky?" But it was no use, the Cat was already gone. With a heavy sigh, Tifa looked into the direction he'd pointed out and then looked at her feet. "Well let's go." She shrugged. 'A person from another world…'She pondered to herself. Was it Cloud? Was it someone else?

There was one way to find out.

The forest was really rather dark, and soon the path she'd traveled all but disappeared. The forest was so quiet, it sent her on edge. There was no sound of birds twittering happily, or animals wandering around their daily lives. Just the sound of her feet against dirt and gravel could be heard.

'Jabberwocky…' Tifa mused to herself. It certainly didn't sound very comforting, especially in a place like this.

As she wandered along a little further, it wasn't hard for her to hear the crying from a small secluded clearing, "Hello?" Tifa called, parting the shrubbery.

A small girl in a blue dress sniffled, rubbing her eyes furiously. "Oh dear...I just can't seem to stop myself." She said rubbing her face into her white pinafore.

Feeling rather silly for intruding, and even worse for the girl's sad expression, Tifa knelt down by her, rubbing her back gently. "There, there." She said comfortingly, continuing on in this fashion until the tears subsided.

"Thank you very much." The girl said gratefully, sniffling away her tears. "It's the nicest anyone has been to me since I came to this place."

Tifa hummed in agreement. "They are a strange lot, aren't they?" she thought out loud, pausing as she remembered something. "Oh! My name is Tifa." She smiled. "And you?"

"Oh! [H]ow rude of me!" The girl said, covering her mouth. "My name is Alice, pleasure to meet your acquaintance." She said, dipping her head politely.

Remembering what the cat said, Tifa placed a finger against her cheek thoughtfully. "You don't happen to be from around here do you?" She wondered.

"Oh no!" Alice shook her head. "Of course not…I well-I…ended up here on my own fault…" She trailed off, before finishing embarrassedly. "Again."

Tifa's lips twitched into a smile. "Again?" She wondered.

Alice sighed, fidgeting with her dress. "Well you see…I have a problem." She began, trailing off for a moment. "With curiosity."

Tifa nodded her head understandingly. "Many people do, you know?"

"Well yes, but I have the unfortunate disposition of being far too curious for my own good." Alice replied miserably, crossing her arms. "I just can't help myself you see." She sighed. " You see, the last time I was here, I almost lost my head!"

"The queen?" Tifa presumed.

"Why yes, the very same…have you met her?" Alice blinked, pale blue eyes shinning with curiosity.

Tifa laughed in amusement. "Oh no, but I've heard of her." And not very good things either.

"I see...well now, where was I…" Alice thought a finger pressed to her lips thoughtfully. "Ah yes!" she cried, continuing on, "The last time I was here, I almost lost my head. The silly thing thought I'd stolen her heart! Can you imagine?" She scoffed, tossing her nose into the air angrily. "And then well…I was kidnapped…" She began, more to herself. "To open some sort of door…and well, a boy with a key saved me." Now how had she forgotten his name? Alice wondered to herself.

In the span of a heartbeat, Tifa said his name in surprise. "Sora!"

"Ah yes!" Alice nodded her head. "That was exactly his name." She said finger wavering in the air as she tilted her head. "And the other two…"

"Donald and Goofy." Tifa responded, smiling. 'They certainly do get around.'

"Precisely, how did you know?" Alice wondered, clapping her hands happily.

Tifa giggled. "We've met, them and I." She said simply. "How did you forget?" She wondered.

Alice frowned, looking towards the sky. "You see…I'm not quite sure of that myself." she admitted, eyes growing sad. "They were such nice people too…" She sighed sadly. "But you see…recently, I began remembering them…and this place too…so I went looking for it you know." She said. "And well, when I found it, I knew I mustn't have been dreaming….but the trouble is, I had the same problem now as I had then!" With a sigh, she crossed her arms again, the very picture of disappointment.

"I said to myself; "Now Alice, this can't be a very good idea!" You know…" The girl began in a very scolding tone. "The trouble is, I seldom follow my own advice…and well, in the end, I became lost." Alice finished, plucking at a few stray threads of her dress. "And now, I don't know how to get home, that's when you found me."

Tifa nodded her head sympathetically. "You're not the only one." She admitted, being both lost, and at the disadvantage of seldom following her own advice. "I suppose it can't be helped." She said, getting to her feet and placing her hands on her hips. "I'll help you home."

"Oh truly?" Alice cried, springing to her feet. "Why I would greatly appreciate it!" She clasped her hands beneath her chin. "I do hope it isn't too much trouble." She paused in her happiness.

Tifa covered her smile with a hand. 'How cute…' Children were a weakness of hers. "No not at all." She said, shaking her head.

Alice opened her mouth to say something only to pause. "Do you hear that?" She wondered, blonde brows furrowing in thought.

"Hmm?" Tifa wondered, listening closely.

_"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves  
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:  
All mimsy were the borogoves,  
And the mome raths outgrabe."__  
_  
A familiar chortling voice sang from the tree above.

"Cheshire cat!" Alice called, a relieved look crossing her face. "I've been looking for you!"

"And how do you do, to you too." The cat's grin seemed to grow. "But now's not the time for a reunion, it seems we're about to have company." He said, tsking quietly.

A frown crossed Tifa's face, just as ground began quaking. "Company?She asked voice filled with trepidation.

"Why yes." The cat said, moving onto his second verse.

_"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!  
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!  
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun  
The frumious Bandersnatch!"_

Tifa's stomach rolled nervously. "Alice, go hide." She hissed, pointing into the bushes.

The girl didn't hesitate.

"I did try to warn you." The cat said in melancholy, stripes disappearing one by one, leaving only his pearly crescent smile. "Not to worry though." He said simply, fading from sight.

"Not to worry?" Tifa cried loudly. "What's that supposed to mean?" she shouted after him angrily, dodge rolling out of the way of a swiping claw.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the things called a jabberwocky. "Oh…" Tifa gulped heavily.

Giant and grotesque, she supposed it could be called a dragon. Twice her size, sharp toothed and sharp clawed, thin wings veined with yellow stretched in agitation, its mouth stretching wide into a horrible hiss.

The stench on its breath reminded her of carrion.

'No problem Teef.' She told herself, tilting her chin defiantly. She'd seen worse, right?

Right.

Slinking low as it snapped its wide jaws at her, she rolled in close, springing both feet up and driving them into its soft underbelly. The jabberwocky stumbled back dazed by the powerful blow, screeching along the way. Rolling to the side she was on her feet again, narrowly avoiding being sliced across the back.

What she couldn't avoid were the jaws that clamped down on her shoulder resolutely.

"Miss Tifa!" Alice cried, popping over the shrubbery.

Tifa shook her head wildly. "Get down!" She scolded, biting her lip, as she gripped the creature's jaws and pried them open, cutting her fingers along the way. It hurt badly, things would be much worse if she didn't get away. With her freedom, she drove an elbow into its snout mercilessly, dropping out of the way as it reared back angrily.

Pressing a hand against the ground, Tifa took a deep breath and ran forward, launching herself into the air, and twisting around to land on its back.

"I see you're doing well." The Cheshire cat said from the limb just above her head.

"Not now!" Tifa screeched, clinging to the jabberwocky's back. From this position she was relatively safe.

"Now, now." The cat said in a mollifying tone. "I went to bring you a gift!" He said, pushing a bound object off the limb.

As hard as it was clinging on, she managed to unwind the wrappings. "A sword?" Tifa mumbled in disbelief. "I don't use one of these…"

The cat laughed, shaking its head as if thinking on how silly she was being. "It's easy. Stick him with the pointy end." He said in matter of fact fashion. "Or there's the other option." He mused, grin stretching. "But that's…far less desirable. Don't you suppose?"

She had a very good idea what that second option was, and decided to take her chance with the first. "Right…pointy end…can't be too hard." She mumbled to herself, feeling rather clumsy with a sword in hand.

Those few moments of distraction cost her the nice safe position she'd coveted, and the jabberwocky sent her flying over head and face first into the ground.

"Ugh…" Tifa winced, pulling herself up by the bark of a tree. For a moment lightheadedness washed over her, but was soon chased away by the heavy breaking against her check. The wide gaping maws of the jabberwocky stretched open invitingly as it reared its head back for the final snap.

Clenching her teeth, Tifa raised the sword, just in time to pierce the jabberwocky through the mouth. The feeling of teeth scraping down her arm sent shivers down her spine, all too aware it would have been much worse otherwise.

As the jabberwocky stumbled back on dead legs, she drew her arm out carefully, watching as it slumped over.

"Whew." Tifa sighed to herself, slipping to the ground with her back against the tree. "I guess I should be thanking you." She mulled, glancing up at the Cheshire cat. The battle might have gone on much longer otherwise.

The cat simply purred, as if pleased with her response.

"Oh, you're wounded!" Alice cried as she hurried over from her hiding spot.

Tifa smiled slightly. "It's fine, I've got a potion here somewhere." She remarked, using her uninjured hand to pull a vial from her pocket. "Are those things common here?" She wondered, sipping the green tonic slowly, feeling the pain wash away.

"I wouldn't know, I'd never seen one until now…" Alice sighed, a frown painted in place. "How vexing."

The Cheshire cat had left his tree and was now slinking along the forest floor. "Very rare, but very dangerous. Not many here in wonderland make it through one of them." He said, brushing against Alice's legs. "How nice to see you again Alice." He said, purring as she patted him affectionately.

"The same to you." Alice stated a smile crossing her face as she nodded. The Cheshire cat was really a rather helpful beast. Although far too mischievous for his, and unwary travelers good at times.

Tifa sighed, and was on her feet in a moment. "Well, I certainly hope never to cross one of those again." She admitted, brushing herself off, and pulling the blade from the jabberwocky. "What shall we do with this?" she mused, feeling a sense of appreciation for the weaponry, but having no real use for it.

"Oh that old thing?" The cat began. "Well it'll go to where it came from." He said as it disappeared from Tifa's hands. "As all things do in the end."

"This place certainly is strange." Tifa said, shaking her head. "But I suppose it has a bit of logic to it." She said on an after thought. "After this little run in, I think I would like to bypass the Queen." She decided.

"Oh, but that's a shame!" The Cheshire said pityingly. "It's ever so much fun!"

Alice scoffed, crossing her arms. "You're the only cat in the world who would think losing your head would be fun!" She paused. "For that matter, the only person!"

"Oh but I've already lost my head!" The cat laughed jovially, turning said appendage upside down.

Tifa couldn't help but laugh. 'What an interesting friendship.' She pondered to herself. The sensible ever curious Alice, and the out of the ordinary, seemingly all knowing Cheshire cat.

"I really don't think anyone I'm looking for is in a place like this." Tifa , looking up towards the sky. "And I think I'm a bit to wise to go to a place where I might lose my head." She decided.

Alice nodded her head, folding her hands over her apron daintily. "Quite right." She agreed. This time, she was going to follow her own advice for sure.

"Aah, what a shame." The Cat sighed, resting head into palm once more. "I do hope you'll visit Wonderland again soon. It's quiet boring these days." He said, yawning as if to emphasize this. "You will, won't you Alice?" He asked, yellow eyes staring up at the blue dressed girl. "You haven't seen all there is to offer in Wonderland you know." He began chuckling to himself.

A smile crept onto Tifa's face. "I think what he means to say, is that he missed you." She said, fondly. Despite the riddles and enigmatic phrases, the cat didn't seem to be all bad.

A gentle smile soon bloomed on Alice's face as well. "Is that so…" She said patting the Cheshire's head. "I do suppose every now and then wouldn't hurt, so long as I can find my way to and from."

The Cheshire cat, seemingly quiet pleased with this and purred. After a moment he tapped the trunk of the tree next to them with a paw. "This should take you to where you came from." He said to Tifa and young lady next to her. "But before you go…" He trailed off, eyes sliding shut. "I have a riddle for you."

"Oh Cheshire cat." Alice sighed. "It never ends with you." She said gently.

Tifa pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Go on then." She said, indulging him.

"Sometimes the way forward is the way back." He said, slowly disappearing, leaving only his ever present grin.

"Huh?" Tifa wondered to herself, confusion written on her face.

"Good-bye Cheshire!" Alice said, waving farewell. "Thank you!" She said after a moment, before turning to Tifa. "He's a little odd…but he's really rather sweet." She said with a smile. "I think…that maybe he led you to me, because he was worried."

Patches of sunlight broke through the thickly wooded area, painting it in hues of gold and red as the sun went down. "I think so too." Tifa admitted, a fond look fluttering onto her face. A smiling cat he may be, but a cat none-the-less he was. "You known what they say about cats don't you?" she asked.

"A cat may look at a king?" Alice guessed a teasing glint to her eyes.

Tifa laughed shaking her head. "I suppose there's that too." She admitted. "But also; What greater gift than the love of a cat?" She wondered, looking through the tree passage.

"Never truer." Alice admitted, thinking both of the Cheshire cat and her lovely Dinah back home. Seeing that Tifa was walking through the tree, she quickly followed after finding themselves in a narrow hall filled with doors.

Tifa let out a startled gasp, amused that she could still be shocked in a place like this. "The door to my Gummi ship." She mused, laying her hands against it.

"Oh! And look!" Alice cried, rushing towards a large glass mirror. "My parlor room…and there's Dinah on the other side!" When her hands came into contact with the glossy service it sent ripples through the glass like water. "Oh…" Alice said breathlessly, eyes wide with wonder.

Tifa smiled. "Well…I suppose this is farewell." She said, nodding her head a little sadly.

A sad look washed over Alice's face. "I do suppose so." She paused, shaking her head. "But I'm sure we'll meet again!" She said loudly, nodding her head. "I'm sure of it."

Touched by the girl's resolve Tifa nodded. "Maybe you're right." She said softly.

"When you see Sora again…please thank him for me." Alice requested, pausing for a moment, before running from the mirror to throw her arms around her rescuer. "And thank you very much too!" She said tearfully.

"Your very, very welcome." Tifa said, smiling fondly as she gave the young girl a hug as well.

Alice pulled away sniffling. "Well, I shan't keep you waiting." She said, tilting her chin up, and marching back towards her portal home. With one last look behind her, she left through the rippling mirror.

"Sometimes…the way forward is the way back?" Tifa pondered to herself once more, still at a loss to its meaning. Shaking her head, she out it aside for the moment. She was in need of a nice long rest.

With that in mind, she departed the wonder filled world of Wonderland.

Far off and away, in a very familiar place, just as she was leaving one place, _he _was arriving at another.

* * *

I have a fondness for the bond between Cheshire and Alice. It always seemed to be, he was quite friendly with her, appearing and following her all over the place in both the original book and Disney movie. He also seemed rather involved in helping Sora clear her name. So while he likes to cause trouble, he's also rather helpful and seems to have a soft spot for Alice in particular.

I think he's really rather fond of her, and so I portrayed it here; I also always wondered what happened to Alice after "order" was restored, and wanted to explore it a bit.

The quote at the beginning is actually a song that was taken from the movie, it's really rather sweet. I felt like it fitted this chapter for some reason.

I find the interactions between the survivors of Hallow Bastion to be absolutely adorable *Sighs happily.* I can't help but include the memories of them, since "family" If such a big part of who Tifa is.

This chapter seems like a big giant ball of fluff to me, but hopefully, it's enjoyable to everyone.

On a more serious note, all my love and well wishes to Japan, and anyone there right now. Hope you're doing well.

Don't forget to support them, and this story :D


	3. Catch You, Catch Me

Disclaimer: Nope, I'm currently negotiating with Disney and Square for the rights though. OH. Wait. Looks like I was denied. Apparently they didn't like the offer of lint I made to them. (Shame really. It was such nice lint.)

Recommended reading in 3/4. Unbeta'd version. All mistakes belong to me D: I beg for forgiveness.

* * *

**_ Swing Low_**

**By: _Tsuki Hoshino_**

* * *

_ A man is like a cat; chase him and he will run - sit still and ignore him and he'll come purring at your feet.__  
__ -__Helen Rowland_

* * *

Cloud walked the streets of Radiant Garden, his steps light and airy- nearly jaunty. It'd been a long time since he'd been to this place feeling as light as he did now. 'In fact, it's been since I was a kid.' That time was before the heartless, before traverse town, and before Sephiroth. Although he had been here only weeks ago that time a dark cloud had been hanging over him.

It was like; the sun had finally chased the clouds away.

This time, He was sure Sephiroth was gone for good, forevermore a figment of his memories.

It was a taste of freedom feeling his heart to the brim. He could tell her now, all the things he'd been holding back. Tell her that he wanted to settle down, start rebuilding his life and his home. But most importantly that he wanted to do those things with her.

That was, if he could get the words out without croaking.

Before everything had happened, even though his feelings were the same then as they were now, he'd been to shy, to scared to say those things to her.

Then, even when he'd become stronger, he still couldn't say them. Not wanting to drag her down with him, not wanting to paint a red target on her back. With Sephiroth gone, He had didn't have to worry about that any more. The only issue now was gathering his courage.

It was time to stop tip toeing around her and the elephant in the room. He knew she must have had some sort of feelings for him beyond friends or family, It was just that he'd always been scared that he felt stronger for her then she did for him. So he'd never been able to voice it.

Showing it was another story entirely. Granted, the last two and a half years he hadn't been doing a very good job of it. He'd been busy chasing after a maniac, nearly destroying himself in the process by giving into the darkness and running from the one thing that could actually help him. The usual situation he generally found himself embroiled in due to his lousy luck.

In the end though, everything she said had been true. The darkness would always be there, it couldn't be helped. 'But the light…it never left.' He admitted, pausing in the middle of the street, a hand placed over his chest. It'd always been there in the first place.

Except he had shut it out…had shut her out. What he had done for her own good had only made things worse. He wouldn't make that mistake again. He'd learned his lesson for good. He'd been wasting his time and wasting her time too.

This time he would say it loud and clear, he would lay it all on the table. Even if it killed him, which it probably would. 'This time will be different.' Cloud vowed clenching his fist.

"Are ye'okay lad?" The duck who owned the ice cream store wondered, arching a Grey eye brow that seemed eerily reminiscent of some kind of caterpillar.

"Huh?" Cloud blinked. "Oh yea. I'm fine…" He said, scratching his cheek idly. 'Way to go.' He told himself. 'Look like an idiot in the middle of the damn street.' Moving to the side, he nearly slipped on the skateboard lying in the middle of the walk way. "Damn it Sora!" He hissed under his breath as he quickly righted himself.

That kid was always leaving the thing in the middle of nowhere. It was a wonder no body had killed themselves on it yet.

"Well, then stop standing there ya'daft fool! Your scaring all me customers away!" Scrooge McDuck was attempting to shoo him off by waving his cane about. "What with you're giant sword and morose clothing." He scoffed mumbling to himself.

Cloud nodded, narrowly avoiding being wacked by the cane. 'No respect even now.' He bemoaned to himself.

Unfortunately the verbal abuse wasn't about to end there.

"Back in my day we didn't wear frivolous clothes just for aesthetic value! I mean really, what exactly is the point in one sleeve only? And if you're going to wear skirt, do it right and make it tartan!" The tightwad duck complained, waving his cane just under Cloud's nose, causing the poor boy to lean even further away until he was nearly toppling over the ledge behind him.

There was no way he was going to be caught dead wearing a kilt. "It's not a skirt…" He mumbled defensively. The leather was good for protective purposes. It looked good too.

"Oh? Is that so?" Scrooge scoffed, leaning on his cane for a moment. "If that's the case what's the purpose of having only one sleeve?" Now that was just ridiculous. 'Kids these days.' He sighed, shaking his head in annoyance.

If he knew he could get away with it, Cloud would have walked away by now.

On the other hand If Aerith or Tifa found out about him being rude to the town's people, there would be hell to pay. It was lucky enough that they hadn't overheard him telling Sora that he didn't care what happened to the town a while ago. So swallowing his pride the best he could, Cloud steeled himself for the long haul. It didn't look like Scrooge McDuck was planning to stop anytime soon.

"And another thing," The duck continued. "buy some ice-cream if ya got it into your head to stand outside me shop!" The ire filled Scotsman continued on for quiet some time the whooshing of his cane accenting his speech. "or perhaps you'd like to take a run on the skateboard?" He suggested.

"No." Cloud did not want to step foot on that deathtrap on wheels. "No thank you." He corrected at the sour look he'd been given.

It went on like that for quite some time until he bought some ice-cream.

* * *

Across town in the restoration committee's current home base Yuffie was musing to herself the unfairness of the situation she was in. Everyone else was out on business, even Merlin, so she was stuck manning the fort. Lame yes, but not nearly the main root of all her woe.

Cloud. The whole situation was definitely that spiky haired idiots fault. If it weren't for him and his stupid inferiority complex or whatever his deal was, she wouldn't have to worry about where her meals were coming from. She'd have two competent meal makers instead of only one.

Instead for the past week or so she'd had to put up with the crap Cid had been making all because Aerith was working late on something or another. It was torture and this time she hadn't even done anything to deserve it! 'Him calling this gunk food has gotta be some kinda cosmic joke.' Yuffie sobbed, choking down another spoonful as her face scrunched up in disgust.

God help the poor fools who were victims of Cid's cooking. Sure, the guy could make a cup of tea fit for the gods, but asking him to make toast was like inciting the apocalypse.

It was just her luck someone stole the candy she'd hidden cleverly hidden behind a stack of books.

It was hard to say who took it considering there was never any food at Merlin's place.

Apparently he didn't know what a fridge was, nor did he own a microwave. 'Talk about old school.' Yuffie complained, glancing over at the magician's magic bag. 'Bet that's where the goods are.' When she'd tried to rummage around inside it earlier, something bit her. So she'd reluctantly decided to leave it be.

"Oh dear god, kill me now." She begged hands clasped in prayer. Or at the very least send her a savior, a well endowed, happy disposistioned one preferably.

That wasn't exactly what she got when Cloud walked through the door a few second later.

Even worse, he had an ice cream that he didn't seem about to share.

"You!" Yuffie screamed, brandishing her spoon at him angrily.

Cloud raised an eyebrow the only sign that he wasn't being as apathetical as ever. "Yea, me." He stated holding a hand up in simple greeting, all the while glancing around the small building. "You're the only one here?" what he really meant to ask was 'Hey, where's Tifa?' but he didn't want to come off_ too_obvious.

"Obviously." Yuffie snarked, eyeing him long enough to make him uncomfortable. Then, at the drop of a hat, she leaped out of her chair and tackled him around the waist. It felt a lot like hitting a brick wall, but that didn't deter her in the least.

"Sooo….where's my present?" She asked excitedly, looking behind him as she threw all her previous issues against him out the window.

Cloud rolled his eyes and rested a hand on the top of her head for a moment, as if to savor her relatively sweet disposition. It wouldn't last long and as much as he hated to think it, he'd missed all of them, even Yuffie and her obnoxiousness.

"There is none." He said at last, nearly doubling over when she socked him in the gut. "Yuffie!" He hissed refraining from rubbing the injury. 'Damn…when did she get that strong?' he marveled to himself.

"Don't Yuffie me!" She glowered, jabbing a pointy finger into his chest. "This is all your fault!" She screamed, at last, doing her best to tap dance on his toes. If anyone walked in, he would die of embarrassment because it looked like they were doing some sort of strange dance.

"If you hadn't run off like that, Tifa would be here and I wouldn't have to eat the crap Cid keeps trying to feed me! I'm a growing girl; this stuff is detrimental to my health." She nearly sobbed at the thought of eating anymore fish stew.

"Hey, its not crap!" Cid bellowed from the door, the picture of indignation. "And its good for you…my dad fed it to me all the time! Look how well I turned out." he said in defense, thumping a fist against his chest.

Cloud declined commenting about his opinion on Cid's culinary skills. 'I've been yelled at enough today thank you very much.' He thought to himself.

"No wonder you're so crotchety then." Yuffie mumbled, clearly not concerned as she sunk back into her seat. Swallowing thickly, she quickly downed what was left in her bowl because it was better then the sweltering look Cid was currently giving her.

If her allowance was reduced anymore then it already was, she'd have no one to blame but herself. Except for maybe Cloud.

"Wait…Tifa's not here?" Was just about all that registered through Cloud's head.

Cid snorted, lounging back in his computer chair. "What are ya, Deaf and dumb? And by dumb I mean stupid." He quipped. The look Cloud gave him clearly said he didn't find it amusing.

"Stupid…Definitely." Cloud mumbled under his breath, after slapping his forehead rather loudly. 'Great, just _great_.' This was not how he expected things to go at all. 'If you thought it was going to be a cake walk, then you're a dumbass.' His inner voice remarked oh so helpfully.

There was no arguing with that sort of logic. Not if he wanted to stay sane.

Yuffie watched in sick amusement, her chin resting in her hands as she looked on, a wide smile creeping on her face, much like the cat that caught the canary.

"Don't smile like that; it might get stuck that way." Cid reprimanded, before turning his chastising to Cloud. "If ya wanted to speak to her, why didn't you do it when you were here the last time?" He huffed, crossing his arms, and tilting his head up resolutely. "For that matter, why didn't you both come visit me? Ain't you two got any respect?" He trailed off in that manner with no hint of stopping.

'So what if I'm harping on it.' The pilot grouched. 'They should 'a come seen me.' He had saved their hides and housed them for _years_ after all. 'Guess that don't count for shit these days.' Cid huffed, thumbing his nose as his sniffed loudly. "Now see here…" He began launching into a long and lengthy speech about the importance of visiting and what it meant in terms of respect.

'Why?' Cloud wondered miserable, as he was subjected to the well versed "respect" lecture that Cid seemed to have added to over the years. "If she's not here then where is she?" He asked suddenly, clearly surprising Cid enough to derail his tangent.

Tilting his head back, Cid wiggled his tooth pick in the air dexterously. "Heaven knows… Here, there, everywhere, anywhere?" He supposed. "Spouted some crap at Squall- whatever he's calling himself these days about having to do something or another."

"Gee, that was _so_informative." Cloud grumbled. "Thanks for that. Big help, really it was."

"…and its Leon." Squall reminded as he passed by the headquarters open door. "Figured you'd be coming around soon," he remarked crossing his arms over his chest. He barely moved an inch when Aerith ran right into his back.

"Yea, yea, yea. Nobody cares about you and your damn name change." Cid mumbled, typing away at his computer.

"Oh! Cloud!" Aerith cried, rubbing her snubbed nose while she peered over the disgruntled gunblade wielders shoulder. With a force belying her slight frame she shoved Squall to the side so she could get a better look at the new arrival.

Squall huffed inaudibly and quickly righted his flailing body before going to lean on the opposite wall from Cloud. "Just like old times." He mumbled, eyes meeting Cloud's for a moment. "Well except for one thing…" he said letting the implication hang in the air.

Cloud looked away quickly. "Yea." He said stiffly agreeing.

"How good to see you again so soon, right Leon?" Aerith smiled happily, eyes roving Cloud's form, looking for wounds, scars, and any evidence that he wasn't being properly fed. She found none of those things, which relieved her greatly. 'Well, one should be thankful for the little things.' She supposed, catching Cloud's eyes.

The haunted look that had plagued him for so long had finally abated. The heaviness that had weighed him down days before had nearly evaporated. 'There's just one thing missing.' Aerith mused, an enigmatic smile crossing her face.

Squall rolled his eyes. "Whatever." It wasn't like he was staying. 'Why did I make that name change again?' It was beginning to become a little tedious to upkeep.

"We weren't expecting to see you so soon, after all, you_ did_say you didn't care about what happened to the town. " Oh, sure it was a low blow but she certainly couldn't let him think he got away with it.

Aerith's voice was soft and sweet, and her face betrayed nothing but serenity. Despite that it nearly had Cloud sweating bullets. "I didn't mean it like that." He stated, glancing away from her gaze. "It's not like you needed my help all that much anyways." Besides, when it had counted, he'd been there to help.

"That's true." Aerith mused, tilting her head up to look at the ceiling. "Well, I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it..." She said, as if reading his mind. "So it's alright."

It still made him feel horrendously guilty. Cloud hated when she managed to do that. 'Which is often.' He noted, mildly annoyed.

"Squall, did Tifa mention where she was going?" Cloud wondered, brows furrowing. He'd expected her to wait here for him. Although in hindsight that was another mistake he'd made.

"It's _Leon_." Squall stressed, shoulders slouching. 'For Radiant Garden's sake…' He closed his eyes and counted to ten. "She said something about finding other survivors. Most of us were returned to our home worlds after the door was sealed, but apparently there were some…exceptions. She's been making it her pet project to look for people in the same situation."

'And she's always heckling on me about going things alone.' Cloud thought, ruffling the hair at the back of his neck awkwardly. He hadn't considered that he wasn't the only person she was chasing around.

A pan of guilt ran through him briefly. He hadn't asked her to follow him, nor had he told her not too, because in some small way he was glad that she had. Knowing what he did now, he was inwardly ecstatic about it. If it hadn't been for her showing up then, things may not have ended so well for him in that fight against Sephiroth.

He'd nearly been on his last leg then, filled with doubt and the darkness inside him had been steadily rising to the surface, on the verge of grabbing hold of him and never letting go. 'No.' He thought, shaking his head and with it the darkening thoughts away. 'That time is over now.'

Cloud straightened up and pushed off the wall, ignoring the curious gazes that had been pinned on him. He knew what they were thinking. They wanted to know what he was going to do.

'After all the time she's spent chasing me down, I guess its time for a role reversal.' He seemed to smile slightly. "Sorry to cut the visit short." He said, raising his hand in farewell, and then he was on his way out the door.

A silent understanding seemed to weave throughout the room.

'Finally.' Aerith placed her hands on her hips, feeling rather accomplished. "Cloud." She called to him, causing to stop and glance at her curiously. Gripping his arm gently, and pulling him close to whisper something in his ear. "_Your going to do just fine. The only people who ever had any doubts about your feelings for Tifa, were you and Tifa."_She smiled slyly when she felt his muscles tense. "So, hurry up!" She laughed.

"How do you do that?" Cloud wondered, completely dumbstruck, his face dyed a light pink. It still managed to shock him how easily Aerith could read people. She just shook her head and smiled, placing a finger against her lips.

"It's a secret." She said in lyrical tones. "Now hurry along." She shooed him towards the door, all but on the verge of tossing him out

"Eh?" Yuffie wondered, completely lost. "What'd you say to him?" She nosed only to be ignored.

"Come back soon!" Aerith called after Cloud, happily waving. "And don't forget to send us some post cards so we know how you're doing this time!" She didn't want to go so long without hearing from him again. Still, knowing he was finally making a move without having to be poked and prodded in the right direction definitely spoke volumes about his improvement.

"What?" Yuffie cried incredulously, eyes impossibly wide as she stared slack jawed, only to have it nonchalantly closed by Aerith. "We're just going to let him go? But he just got back!"

"There are some things a man's gotta do." Cid replied in the background, arms crossed. 'That'a boy.' A flush of pride went through him.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Yuffie shrieked. 'Why does everybody keep leaving?' she sighed to herself. Patience wasn't not exactly a virtue she was known for.

"A girl wouldn't understand." Cid huffed, although it wasn't necessarily correct considering Aerith seemed to grasp the situation easily. It was more of a Yuffie thing then anything else.

"Sexist!" Yuffie hissed, hands banging on the table ferociously as she glowered at the old man. It drove her crazy when he said things like that. Chaos soon erupted among the two of them when Yuffie shouted something along the lines of Cid's high waisted pants looking utterly ridiculous, and Aerith soon found herself mediating.

Or at least as much as she could considering there was no way those two would let her get a word in edge wise.

Squall smirked, lifting his head up. "Cloud." He called just before the blonde was out of range.

"Hm?" The blond hardly glanced back.

"Good luck, and when you get back, I've got some work for you to do."

"I'm not interested" Cloud smirked, before moving on. 'Let's mosey.' He remarked to himself. There was no more time to waste. He'd dilly dallied far too long as it was.

Squall just shook his head. "Well see." He called after him.

"So how long do you think it will be before he catches up with her?" Aerith asked after taking a place beside him. She'd given up on trying to keep the peace.

"Knowing those two?" Squall snorted quite loudly. "Cloud will probably be two steps behind her the whole time; they'll constantly just keep missing one another by a hair." A role reversal if he didn't say so himself. Tifa had looked high and low for Cloud, always a step behind him the weeks before they'd left.

It was laughable. "But he'll catch up with her eventually." Squall mused, something akin to a smile that if you knew him well enough, you would refer to as fond crossing his lips. Cloud was at his best when he had the drive to be. Now was one of those times.

Aerith nodded her head. "Yea." She agreed, folding her hands in front of her, as she lost a tension she hadn't really noticed she'd had. "So, how's living alone? Not too lonely right?" She teased, eyes twinkling in merriment as she cut straight through some secret truth.

It was even better when he got that mildly surprised look over his face. It was pretty hard to surprise Squall, but when you did it was pretty funny.

A few months ago, after returning to Hallow bastion, he'd gotten it into his head that he was going to get his own place. At 25 Cid had jokingly deemed it about time. Yuffie hadn't been too happy, but when she realized she could have his room, she'd all but thrown him out the door.

Still, he made sure to eat dinner with them almost every night at the house Yuffie, Cid and her still shared. When Yuffie had teased him about it, he'd simply claimed the reason was because they always made too much to eat anyways. It wasn't much of a trek to make either, considering he lived right across the street.

'I'll never understand why men try to hide their feelings' Aerith sighed, shaking her head at her own thoughts in amusement.

Funny creatures indeed.

"It's fine." Squall stated after a long silence. It was a little strange going home to an empty house everyday. He was glad he had chosen one right across the street though, even when Yuffie decided to barge in completely unannounced to raid his fridge, and steel whatever munny he had lying around.

When he saw their lights on, and figures moving to and fro at night, preparing for bed, he felt comforted. IT helped him sleep at night knowing he was so close. 'Just incase.' He'd told himself when making the decision not to go to far.

Thing were better now, but there was no telling how long they would stay that way. He had to stay on his toes.

For those who carried the knowledge and scars from that which lurked in the darkness, they could never turn back the clock. That was the indisputable truth.

Even if everyone who had been lost was restored to their rightful places, it wouldn't make up for lost time. There were some bonds that could not be mended.

If his father were to walk through the door today, of course he would be happy to see him, inwardly ecstatic even.

But the child his father once knew was long gone and in its place was a man he would probably never have the chance to know.

* * *

Drawing on that mysterious power Cloud had found within himself not long ago, he felt his skin grow warm with a now familiar golden glow stretched across it.

It wasn't unlike traveling through corridors of darkness in its method. It was quicker then Gummi ships, more reliable then a star shard because it wasn't set off at random, but it lacked the weakness that traveling through the dark caused one's heart. It was like traveling through light.

He'd learned that if he focused on a general area of where he wanted to be, it'd take him there. When his sword had clashed with Sephiroth's last, he'd wanted to go to a place that was empty and fast. A place where there was nothing and no one that could be hurt.

That's exactly where it had taken him. This time, he wanted to go where Tifa was, and he hoped it would take him there.

'It won't be long now.' He told himself, letting his eyes slip shut when it became to bright to bare.

Cloud used to wonder what his life would be like if that day had never happened. What things would be like if he had never crossed paths with Sephiroth.

It wasn't until after that shadow had been wiped away that he really thought about it. If it hadn't of been for that bastard, he wouldn't be the person he was now.

There were still a lot of things he hated about himself, but that would never change. He was not a perfect man, nor would he pretend to be.

Sephiroth had given him the opportunity to grow strong. It was in part due to his interference that Cloud had been able to forge the bonds which would eventually lead to his downfall.

'If he…had never come that day, I wouldn't have met Zack.' He acknowledged eyes down cast for a moment. Still he wondered if the end justified the mean. He was happy to have met Zack and everyone else, but he couldn't necessarily say he enjoyed the bad parts of those experiences.

The day that he had turned 19, everything had been set into motion.

As that light flooded his vision, and wiped the world around him away, he lost him self to the thing called memory.

* * *

Hohoho. Never fear! I'm not dead. ( not yet.) As a matter of fact I bring you a peace offering of TWO, that's right count'em TWO chapters. ( Count Count…Sesame street…must resist….) Mostly because Cloud's Flashback is epically long, so it had to be split into two chapters. One will be uploaded after this, and the other needs to be written.

Woot…Scrooge and Yuffie were a kick to write.

I love that Squall's so fiercely protective over his little family. It gives me a warm tingly feeling. Though he comes off as a little stalkerish imo. What with the peering into the windows and all.

Mm…as for Cloud's powers, it's hard to find some way to explain the abilities he and Sephiroth share in Kh, because they both seem to be able to teleport. Where does that power come from though? What are Sephiroth's origins, and how is he tied to Cloud? These are questions I have to ask myself and answer as I write.

Next chapter has some awesome Bromance. That's all I'ma say on the subject 3

Patience my lovelies. Review for me. D: Show me your love. (Actually, just shown me you still love this sucker. )


	4. Foreshadows On The Forefront

Disclaimer: If I owned KH, this would all be canon rather then fanon.

Non betad version.

* * *

_**Swing Low**_  
_**By: Tsuki Hoshino**_

_Come the wild weather, come sleet or come snow, we will stand by each other, however it blow.  
- Simon Dach._

* * *

With his hands in his pockets he strolled down traverse town's third district aimlessly. He'd been officially kicked out of the house for the day while the others prepped for the party. It seemed a little wasteful to him to celebrate as big as they did for something as simple as him being born, when the money could go to something more useful.

'But I can't say no either.' He huffed, brows furrowing in mild irritation. If he tried, Cid would accuse him of bellyaching and call him ungrateful, but worst of all Squall would get that mightier then thou look on his face. 'Not that it ever leaves.' He smirked.

In actuality, he just couldn't put up a fight when he had three pairs of puppy dog eyes focused on him. 'There should be a law.' He decided firmly. It was a crime to be looked at like that.

Although there was an equal number of guys to girls in their household the odds were always tipped in the females favor when they wanted it to. Not a single one of them were immune when they were faced with big watery eyes and miserable pouts.

Except for maybe Yuffie's. She'd used it so often she seemed to have maxed out her limit.

In any case, he'd been kicked out of the nice cool house, thrown into the summer heat and given heartless patrol. 'That's a horrible birthday gift Squall.' His scowl deepened as if the guy could hear him. Adjusting the riffle at his back he clamored down the last few steps only to stop dead in his tracks.

Black feathers were falling like snow, spiraling faster and faster as they slowly clustered together. They were taking shape and all he could do was stare.

'Is this…a heartless?' he wondered expertly locking his firearm on its target in record time.

"Who're-no…what are you?" His brows knit together and lips pursed as he took in the weirdo standing in the plaza's center. Long quick silver hair whipped in some sort of invisible wind, but it was his eyes that sent the hair on the back of Cloud's neck on end and his nerves on edge.

That he had a wing. A black wing. what kinda freak had only one wing?

Cold, calculative, cat like eyes slithered over Cloud's form. In the span of a second he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. "Pathetic." The man murmured, scoffing.

"W-who are you calling pathetic?" Cloud seethed, pride overwhelming fear.

A smirk leveled at him sent chills down his spine. "Little boys should go home and play with their toys." The man mocked.

"Just who are you?" Cloud shouted, hand fisting in frustration. 'It's like…this guy knows just what buttons to push and when!' Before he could even blink that guy moved so quickly, it had all been a blur before his eyes, and in the next moment he was tumbling into a wall, leaving cracks in the surface.

It hurt like a bitch.

"My name isn't for the likes of you to know. Rather what you should be asking is _why_ I'm here."

That haughty bastard.

Cloud grunted and pulled himself up, mildly surprised that he'd managed to keep his grip on his weapon despite his toss through the air. "So then…what exactly is your purpose here in traverse town?" He asked bitterly, licking his dry lips. He wasn't stupid; he could feel the difference between his skills and the winged one.

It was vast.

"Why, to cast this world into darkness of course."

He snapped, and fired a shot, only for the bullet to ricochet off a sliver thin blade. 'How..did I not notice that until now?' It was wickedly long and just as sharp. It had a far reach, meaning it was next to impossible to get close. 'This…isn't looking good.' Cloud acknowledged, keeping his gun to the level of his eyes.

Staying as far away from that blade as possible was his prerogative.

"You should have ran while you could have." Pale lips twisted into a sickly smile.

"And let you do as you please? No way." Cloud stated pointedly. He had stood by and watched as one world shattered he would not do it again. Nearly faster then he could keep up with, that one winged creature came at him and it was all he could do to just not get hacked to pieces.

At that moment, the doors to the first district swung open and revealed Tifa.

"T-Tifa!" He hissed, eyes darting back to the strange man he'd encountered. That guy's eyes hardly moved, but he knew he was examining Tifa just as they had him.

"Eh?" Tifa's garnet eyes flew wide open.

"Don't get involved!" Cloud cried shaking his head. "He's strong…"

"What a pity." A chuckle echoed within the plaza. "The more the merrier after all."

"Cloud…" Tifa's lips pulled into a frown as she quickly assessed the situation. "If he's strong like you say…then you shouldn't go it alone. I'm here, so let me help! Besides. It's your birthday after all, and I can't let you get beat up too badly!" She laughed shortly, before turning her eyes back to the enemy.

This guy was not a small fry.

Whatever he was, she didn't like it one bit and her eyes made it very apparent.

'Tifa…' Cloud bit his lip and nodded, cocking his rifle once more. They were used to fighting side by side. 'This guy is strong…if there's any hope in beating him, it'll have to be together.' He would just have to do his best and see to it that she didn't get hurt.

He fired round after round always keeping just out of reach, working as a distraction in order for Tifa to get close; every now and then she'd get particularly near, only to be driven away by that decisively thin blade.

'It's like he's playing around.' Cloud scowled, realizing the guy wasn't even breaking a sweat.

When the blade came a little to close to Tifa for his liking, she ducked down low beneath it, and managed a swift but forceful uppercut on her opponent, followed by a blow to the stomach. It was the first hit she'd made, but just like Cloud, she quickly realized it had been a lucky break.

It turned out their opponent was a sore loser. His actions and force doubled after that, and if was suddenly a fight for survival. "Damn it!" Cloud panted, leaping back from a flurry of quick swipes. 'Why… do we have all the bad luck?' Hadn't hallow bastion been enough? Now they had to deal with this maniac.

Tifa flipped away, narrowly avoiding a disembowelment. "Someone doesn't like contact sports." She mumbled under her breath.

"Now's not the time for jokes!" Cloud hissed.

"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly.

"You should pay more attention." That silver haired man stated lethargically as he appeared behind Tifa.

Moving faster then he thought he could, Cloud slid beneath the blade and her back, narrowly blocking the lethal swipe with his gun. In tandem, Tifa whirled around a second latter, grabbing the black winged being, and tossing him into a wall with a well placed kick.

He had grossly underestimated them.

"Interesting." He mused, watching them through hooded eyes. "But…enough play time." With that, this time he disappeared from their eyes completely, only to become visible when it was far to late to react. There would be no avoiding injury.

The blade cut through Tifa shoulder, severing muscle from tendon and bone and she fell back grasping her wound with a shrill cry.

"Tifa!" Cloud screamed, blood splattered across his face.

"If this is all this world has to offer…I won't even waste my time."

"Bastard! This isn't a game!" Cloud hissed, racing forward.

"It's always a game." The man corrected, driving the sword through the boy's middle like a knife through butter. "You just happened to have lost." He smiled then, green eyes glowing preternaturally as he raised the blade and the boy with it towards the sky. He was going to toss the boy to the side like trash. "Thanks to you…that girl is as good as dead."

'Not…gonna…happen!" Cloud snarled, gripping the blade as he pulled it deeper into his body. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or the absolute rage rushing through his veins, but he didn't feel a thing. Not even the sticky red liquid staining his hands bothered him. "I've…had…ENOUGH!" He screamed, slamming his legs into the guy's solar plexus.

There was a sickening crunch, and he flopped to the ground, sword and all.

"Not possible." That one winged freak rasped, clasping his chest.

Cloud's wound made a squelching sound as he pulled the blade free, his stomach flipping briefly at the sight of it. "Think again." He trembled slightly when the guy laughed.

"Your…not bad at all. So I'll tell you my name for the next time we meet."

"There won't be a next time!" Cloud screamed, shaking his head as he gripped the sword tighter.

"Its…Sephiroth." Still he was smiling as though he'd won some sort of prize.

"C-cloud!" Tifa's weakened voice cried worriedly. "Something's happening." A black pool was slowly growing around them, sucking them deeper.

"Now…fall into the darkness." Sephiroth laughed, bursting into black feathers the sword that had been taken from his hands disappearing into nothingness.

"T-tch!" Cloud struggled to his feet,hands groping for Tifa's in the growing ink puddle. "I don't think I can get us out of here." He said, lifting her to her feet, his hands holding her steady. The pull from whatever they were standing in was impossible to escape.

"That's okay." She smiled weakly. "Y-your not…hurt badly, are you?" She wondered, eyes fluttering as she fought away the spots in her vision.

He just smiled. "I'm fine." His grip tightened when he felt them being tugged in two different directions.

Tifa trembled, her hands gripping his arms tightly. "Don't…don't let go!" Her face was pale and wane, but she used what little strength she had to keep hold of him. Wherever they went, they would go together if she had any say in it.

"I definitely won't." He promises looking her in the eyes. He wouldn't let go, not willingly. But he was too weak and so was she. When the dark rose over his head, his grip faltered for only a moment. In that second, she slipped away crying out his name and he succumbed to nothingness.

When he woke, he was in some strange place, with some strange guy grinning down at him. Moving quickly out of instinct, he rammed his head against the unwitting strangers.

"Ouch, Geez!" The black haired guy yelped, jerking back. "Is that any way to treat a Hero?" He mumbled rubbing his aching noggin.

"Tifa, where's Tifa! And…where is this…?" Cloud hissed, holding his own head. 'Like a brick wall.' He should know, considering his encounter with one not to long ago. ' This…is the worst birthday yet.' Glancing around quickly he determined that they were in a wooded area. 'There isn't a place like this for miles around in traverse town…'

"The who and the what now…?" The brick headed guy wondered, scratching his x-scared cheek thoughtfully. "Well, I'm not sure what a "Tifa" Is, but as for where you are…I guess the closest place you'd recognize from here is Thebes. It's in that direction." He replied, pointing towards the north.

"She's not a what, she's a who." Cloud's snorted as his forehead wrinkled. "Thebes?" He asked tentatively.

"You gotta be joking…everyone in Greece knows Thebes!" The guy exclaimed energetically. "Where do you live, under a rock? Next thing you know, you'll be saying you never heard of the coliseum."

The stark look he received in turn was enough to say it all.

"Oh. You really _don't_ know." All smiles had been wiped away. "Maybe you hit your head or something...I used a potion though. You had a pretty nasty boo-boo." He explained. "Not sure if those things work on head injuries though…"

Glancing down at his unwounded stomach, Cloud figured that would explain the lack of pain where he'd been impaled."My heads just fine." He corrected. 'At least now it is.' He mused, wincing at the memory of the head whack they'd enjoyed mere moments ago.

If he was here…where was Tifa? A scowl crossed his face as he climbed to his feet, for a moment he felt a little woozy and faltered, nearly kissing the ground.

"Easy!" The guy cried grabbing him by the back of his shirt quickly, before slinging one of Cloud's arms around his neck for a better hold. "Sheesh..."

"That guy…" Cloud rasped, clenching his chest. Something wasn't right with him. "That guy…Seph…Sephiroth!" What had he done?

The grip beneath his arm tightened. "Sephiroth…you know him too huh?" The guy asked, expression becoming grim. "Fate sure has a funny way of doing things." He said quietly, shaking his head. "Hey kid, what's your name?" he asked, blue eyes studying Cloud's face.

"Cloud." The situation was becoming stranger and more complicated by the second. "How do you know him?" he asked, eyeing his companion suspiciously.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Zack." He was greeted with a toothy grin. "As for how I know him…to make it short, I've fought him- among other things." Of course, there was more to it then that, but it was a long story. "And I know enough about him to know he's bad news. I'm surprised you survived."

"I could say the same." Cloud replied dryly, feeling the guy next to him tremble in laughter, he smiled slightly.

Zack tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hey, about what you said earlier? About that Tifa person..." He clarified at the confused look. "You seemed pretty worried about her."

"That's right…" Cloud frowned. "She was there too when that guy showed up, and when that…Shadow pool sucked us in, and I guess it must have spit me out here." He shuddered remembering the feel of shadows slithering all over him. It made his heart clench just thinking about it.

"Ah. Well if you made it here safely from well, wherever you came from, then I bet she did too." Zack mused, steering them through the forest. "It's just a matter of where I guess."

Although there was no proof, it made cloud feel a little better to hear it. "Yea." He agreed quietly. "Thanks for your help by the way." He felt a little abashed by all the trouble he was causing.

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Zack grinned. "This is what heroes are for!" he cried excitedly.

'This guy…' Cloud thought, in amusement. 'Has a very puppy like personality.' It was easy to like him.

"So like, about this Tifa…is she good looking?" Zack laughed even harder when his new buddy's cheeks turned bright red.

"Don't ask that kinda question!" Cloud yelped, turning his burning face away.

"Haha! Definitely must be good looking." Zack said mischievously. "Lucky."

It was like they'd known one another for years. It was a little strange to Cloud who was normally pretty reserved. It wasn't an unwelcome sensation. "Her looks aren't important at all." He said. 'Well, maybe a little.' He conceded to himself reluctantly.

"Heh. Sure thing buddy." Zack looked completely unconvinced.

"Hey, where exactly are we going?" Cloud wondered, lips pressing into a firm line. 'And how am I going to get back to traverse town?' If he had a gummi ship it wouldn't be such an issue. Although he wasn't so great with them, Cid had made sure all of them knew the basics of piloting and repair.

"Ah well…funny story." Zack began, laughing sheepishly. "See, right before you dived outta the sky and nearly winged me, I was in the middle of a heroic expedition." Already Cloud didn't like where this was going. "So like, I was in the middle of hunting the Cadmean fox."

"What exactly is a Cadmean Fox?" Cloud asked cautiously.

Zack blinked, feeling his friend tense up. "Well, it's a giant fox; it's been causing a lot of mischief around Greece lately. Problem is they say its uncatchable or something. Me, I'm gonna prove um'wrong!" he chattered on excitedly.

"Mischief? What exactly does that entail?"That could be anything really. Stealing food, destroying public and private property. 'Maiming people.' Cloud supposed that as the worst. It was around that time, that a hot gust of air hit his neck, causing him to glance behind him curiously. That action landed him nearly nose to nose with a large, cold and wet snout.

Cloud gulped, and stopped in his tracks.

"Well, they say that it's been kidnapping kids and eating them." Zack recounted expression rather serious. "Of course they never found any remains," He perked up at that. "So who knows."

"Look behind you."

"Cloud," Zack sighed in exasperation. "I'm too old to fall for that kind of trick. Good try though." He laughed; shaking his head like one would with a child. All the while completely unaware of the situation. "Kids these days." Not that he was all that much older then his buddy.

"Zack." Cloud hissed, jabbing his elbow into the man's unprotected side. "Look behind you."

Zack winced, and mumbled under his breath as he glanced behind them. "Oh." He stated flatly, coming eye to eye with the creature.

It was a very large fox indeed, about twice as tall as the two of them. It also happened to be quite the trouble maker. As soon as it realized it had both of their absolute attention it quickly nipped Zack right on the bottom.

"Ouch!" The would be hero yelped and promptly dropped Cloud to the ground. "You little…" he began, reaching for the rather large and imposing sword attached to his back.

'How did I just notice that?' Cloud marveled. The thing was nearly half his size. It was a wonder Zack was able to lug him and the thing around so easily. He seemed to be making a habit of letting things slip his notice.

Rather then out right attack them or something he would have expected a blood thirsty animal to do, it playfully batted at Zack, swiftly knocking the guy over and the sword right out of his hands and into his lap- Thankfully on the flat side. "Hey!" his cry was more surprised then anything.

Cloud arched a brow as he got to his feet, this time without any aid. He was beginning to feel a bit steadier. "Zack…are you sure this thing is supposed to be blood thirsty?" For something so evil as to eat kids, it certainly wasn't acting like it. Trying to be helpful, he pulled the giant sword off the guy's legs, surprised at how light it was.

Before he could do much more, he moved out of the way when the Fox sniffed at Zack's hair. He snorted as it used a massive paw to roll the fallen soldier around in the grass.

"Eh…I don't think so," Zack agreed reluctantly, wiggling underneath the fuzzy paw. It was kind of ticklish. "That, or its just playing with its food." He thought for a moment, cupping his chin as he perused. He hardly seemed bothered by the rolling motion, though it was making a mess of his clothes and hair.

The fox, seeing that its improvised toy wasn't doing much of anything interesting for the moment turned to Cloud as a source of entertainment. It slunk low on its front paws, laying its massive head on them, as though it were about to take a leap at him.

Slightly panicking, Cloud held his hands out in a placating manner. 'Oh please don't' He groaned mentally, not sure if his body could take much more abuse. "Now be a good…fox and settle down." He begged, carefully placing his hands on its head. That seemed to please it, because its long bushy tail thumbed against the forest floor loudly.

"Now if the fox isn't eating those kids…where are they?" Zack pondered out loud, brushing some leaves and grass off his clothing before bending to pick up his sword.

"Eating them?" A child's voice exclaimed unhappily. "Sian hasn't been _eating _them." A young girl cried as she came running out of a copse of trees.

"Sian?" Cloud and Zack repeated at the same time, glancing at one another as they did so.

The fox seemed to recognize the girl, for it quickly trotted to her and lay at her feet. "Yes, its short for Teumessian." It was quite a mouthful after all.

"If its not eating them, then what's it doing with them?" Zack rubbed the back of his neck abashedly. He really could have hurt the thing. "And who are you?" He wondered on an after thought.

"My name is Procris." The child stated happily, patting the fox between the ears with her small hands. "And _she _is not an_ **it**_. As for what she's been doing with them…Sian has a bit of a problem." She waved a hand nonchalantly. "She likes to bring home strays. Or rather what she thinks are strays, she can't seem to help herself. " Procris whispered conspiratorially as she flattened the fox's ears. "See, she sees them off all by themselves, and brings them home with her."

"Oh…" Zack trailed off, shoulders drooping. "So there really was no crisis after all." Which was both a good thing, and a bad thing.

The girl blinked. "Well, if you're looking for something to do, you can take those kids home." She suggested. "There's about six of them. My parents are starting to get fed up."

Zack straightened up. "Well, duty calls." He grinned over at Cloud. "No task to big or to small for a Hero, eh Cloud?"

"I guess so…" The blonde trailed off as they followed the girl and her fox.

It ended up being a pretty big task after all. Rallying six kids together and then trekking them back to the town they belonged to was no easy task. Especially when you happened to only have two arms and everyone wanted a ride. At one point they'd managed to form a four person moving dog pile on top of Zack. It had been a great source of entertainment considering how vocally the guy had complained at first before relenting.

Every time that Cloud seemed to slip into his thoughts and grew solemn, Zack had a way of drawing him out of it. So the time was passed easily, and by the time the sun had gone from mid sky to below the horizon they'd arrived back in town.

"Whew." Zack breathed a sigh of relief as they bid Farwell to the last of the children. "What a day."

"Yea." Cloud agreed. "Some birthday." He laughed, realizing it slipped out unexpectedly.

"Birthday!" Zack cried incredulously. "Aw man…I don't think I have anything." He seemed to pat around his person for a gift. "Hmm…"

Cloud snorted. "You basically saved my life, so don't sweat it, I'll spot you." He replied sarcastically.

Zack just shook his head. "No way man!" he tucked a hand beneath his chin and tapped his foot. "Lets see…" He thought, studying Cloud. "Hey…" He perked up, placing his hands on his hips. "How about some sword lessons!" he pumped a fist in the air. "

"Eh, I don't know about that…" Cloud trailed off doubtfully, with his luck he'd cut a hand, or an arm off. Still, he sort of wanted to learn.

"You're a natural though!" Zack exclaimed. "You picked my sword up like it didn't weigh a thing. Not many people can do that….besides, you wanna get stronger right?" He asked seriously, tilting his head up towards the moon.

If he were stronger, he would have been able to take Sephiroth If he were stronger Tifa wouldn't have been hurt. "Of course." Cloud said, stuffing his hands into his pocket, eyes boring into the ground. Guilt flooded his system. He could fight heartless pretty easily, but up against Sephiroth he was hardly a match, and that was where it mattered most.

"I'll teach you everything I know then." Zack smiled confidently. "Trust in me." He said, holding his fist out. "And don't worry…I'll definitely find you a way home." He promised.

"R-right." Cloud murmured, bringing his fist against Zack's.

That was it then. For the next few months he trained tirelessly. For as goofy and flighty as Zack could be, he was a fighting machine. Well trained, well disciplined and always pushing the boundaries of what should have been humanly possible.

When he had first met him, he'd been surprised that Zack had gone against Sephiroth and made it. 'Hell, I was surprised I made it.' Cloud admitted to himself, fingers brushing against the potion cured wound. Although it had taken the worst of it away, there was still a pale white gash where it would have been.

"Man, I'm beat." Zack whined, dropping onto the ground to lie on the cool grass. "You really give a guy a run for his money!" And in such a short amount of time too. It didn't surprise him at all. The moment he met Cloud, he had a feeling the kid was meant for something momentous.

Wicking away a few beads of sweat off his brow, Zack tucked his arms behind his head, and closed his eyes. It was already mid October, but the heat of summer was still lingering. "Boreas must be running late this year." He mused. " Demeter probably asked for a little more harvest time."

"Who?" Cloud wondered, picking his aching body up from where Zack had tossed him mere moments earlier. What had once been a burning pain in his muscles when they first began his training had finally receded into a dull ache. It meant he was getting stronger, he knew that for sure. 'Its still not enough.' He thought, sitting against a tree, and chugging down some cold water from his canteen.

"Eh?" Zack looked amused. "Oh wait, different world." He'd forgotten about that for a moment. He hadn't been surprised at all when he'd gleaned the information from Cloud. He'd known about the existence of other worlds since his encounter with Sephiroth, but that was the only person he'd met so far. 'Well…maybe not.' He acknowledged, remembering three faces from his youth.

Shaking those thoughts away, he continued on. "Boreas is the god of the north wind, he brings the winter chill, and Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, Grains, Harvest and fertility." He explained, pointing a heaven skyward. "See Cloud, this world is governed by gods. There are a lot of them, and they all have different niches."

Cloud nodded wordlessly. "Do you think they know how to travel to different worlds?" He asked, biting his lip.

"I dunno." Zack said, eyes staring up at the sky pensively. "You'd have to ask them." He laughed, as if he could feel Cloud's surprise. "What, didn't think they could talk?" He joked.

"I wouldn't know, I've never met a god before." Cloud replied dryly. "Have you?"

Zack sat up suddenly. "As a matter of fact, I have." He grinned, hands on his knees. "Wasn't the best situation in the world though." His brows knit for a second, before his face was alight once more. "Before I get into that, lemme explain something real fast."

All Cloud could do was nod wordlessly.

"You see, there are three main gods, who are also brothers. There's Zeus, who's the king of them all and rules the heavens," Zack began, ticking them off on his fingers. "Then there's Poseidon, who rules the seas, and finally there is Hades, who rules the underworld." His lips pressed into a grim line. "See, a long time ago, they all drew straws to see who got what, and Hades got the short end of the stick and its put him in a foul mood ever since."

"He sounds like a jerk." Cloud mumbled, chewing on a piece of jerky.

Zack snorted, clearly looking vexed. "He'd just take that as a compliment. The louse." Wherever that hot headed bastard was, he hoped he could hear him. "So anyways, He's always plotting to take over his brother's position and become king. Fortunately for all us mortals, he's always being foiled by his nephew. Years ago, when I was younger I went to the coliseum to try and get this legendary Hero trainer to train me."

Cloud didn't know what a coliseum was, but he had a feeling Zack would explain it, so he just followed along. 'That Hades guy…I definitely don't want to have a run in with him.' He sounded like trouble.

"The problem was, he only took on one trainee at a time, and already had one, so we had a competition to see who had more potential." Zack climbed to his feet, and holstered his sword.

Taking that as his cue to follow, Cloud picked up their supplies and grabbed his own smaller, sleeker sword, before trailing after his trainer."You won right?" These days it was getting increasingly harder for him to even conceive that Zack could lose anything, ever.

Zack laughed, shaking his head. "Hell no. I didn't have what it took to be a hero back then.  
He admitted solemnly. "Rather then going to the aid of someone who needed me, I was only concerned with winning. Cloud, a real Hero does the right thing, even at the expense of himself." He explained, clapping a hand on the younger, shorter boy's back. " You have to remember that." They were words of wisdom gained from experience.

"R-right…" Cloud trailed off. When he was young, he'd often made believe that he was a Hero. After the heartless had come, he'd wished he'd been one. If he were a Hero, he could have stopped Sephiroth. Those were the feelings that nagged at him each day. 'I want to be a Hero.' He admitted to himself, eyes gazing at Zack's back. 'Like you.'

Whenever there was trouble, Zack went running. Whenever someone was down on their luck, he made the effort to help out, even when more often then not it landed them in sticky situations. Zack really did have lousy luck. 'Still…I want to be more like him.' Cloud thought admiringly.

"Now where was I?" Zack mumbled to himself, rubbing his chin. "Right!" He cried, snapping his fingers in remembrance. "So, we entered the tournament, and I lost, but a few weeks later, I entered another one and Hades was there. I don't remember it all to well, but he tried using the darkness within my heart to make me some sort of freaky puppet." He scoffed, looking vexed.

"Well that little plan of his failed anyways. A guy named Terra helped me out." For a moment his eyes grew a little sad. "Said he'd come back someday, and we'd have a real match, with my real strength. Never did though." It was a little sad. He'd been looking forward to it. "Come to think of it, that girl never gave me that date either!" Zack clenched his fist, shaking it at the sky. "Damn it! I'm a real hero now too…" He complained, pouting as they walked along towards town.

Cloud just smiled. "Maybe they forgot?" He suggested.

"Maybe." Zack sighed, nodding his head. "That's life I guess. Man, they were real hero's though." He said wistfully, before glancing back at Cloud. From where he stood, the sun illuminated his skin in gold and orange, the colors of sunset.

"A word to the wise Cloud- Stay away from Hades. That guy's a snake. I've heard stories where he promises to give people what they want, only to twist it, and use them for his own gain."Zack said, pointing a finger at the youth.

In this world there were a lot of stories of people going to Hades and promising their souls in exchange for his help on one thing or another. None of them ended well.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Cloud mumbled, having no idea that in just a few short years he would forgo the advice just given to him.

"Yea, probably not."Zack admitted, throwing an arm around the boy's neck and drawing him in close to give him a noogie. "You're a smart kid after all!" He laughed raucously.

"Ugh, Zack, this is disgusting!" Cloud shouted, face much to close to the elder boys armpit.

"Oh?" The black haired boy wondered, taking a whiff of his free arm. "Eek…" He shuddered and promptly released the boy. "Although, you know, you don't smell much better yourself Cloud." He sniffed in the other guys direction before recoiling. "Sheesh. Hope you don't run into Tifa smelling like that."

"S-shut up!" Cloud hissed, shaking a fist at him. Tifa was a touchy subject that Zack liked to tread on in order to get a rise out of him. It always worked too.

"Heh. Make me." Zack cried happily, easily dodging one of Cloud's strikes. "Last one back to the inn has to foot the bill!" He got a head start running.

"What? Wait!" Cloud complained eyes wide and mouth dropping open. "I don't have any money!" and all at once he was running after him.

Good times like that wouldn't last much longer.

In the future when all was said and done, he would wish he'd savored them more. Wished he'd been stronger for what was to come. For right then though, he was living in the moment. Though he missed the others he knew that for now, there was nothing he could do but wait and hope.

One day when a year had passed before he hardly even knew it, they were sitting beneath an apple tree stuffing themselves with the crisp and sweet fruit. "Hey Zack?" Cloud began, brows furrowed in thought.

"Hm?" The black haired man wondered lazily, mouth full of juicy fruit. It was mid summer once again, and the sun was being relentless.

"I've been meaning to ask, what's the deal with you and Sephiroth?" The words hung in the air for a moment as if all the rest of the world had gone silent.

Zack swallowed, and gave a short sideways glance to his friend. "You know…Sephiroth didn't used to be evil." He said, tossing his core away. "He used to be a great Hero."

Cloud simply gave him an incredulous look, as if to say _that guy? No way._

Zack smiled, holding his hands up defensively. "Hey, it's the truth. When I was a kid, I really wanted to be like him." He said quietly. "People say, that he got a little to close to the darkness though, and it drove him berserk."

"The darkness…" Cloud mumbled, remembering Sephiroth's words to him.

Zack hummed idly and closed his eyes, fingers pressed to his lips in thought. "After that he just disappeared for a while. Then one day I was at the coliseum, and he showed up in a shower of black feathers. "I could tell there was really something wrong with him. It was the look in his eyes ya'know? Like he wasn't all there."

Cloud knew. He'd seen that look in Sephiroth's eyes when he went against him. It was empty, nearly hallowed out of any feeling at all.

"So I went after him and he spouted some stuff about how the darkness could make a person strong. I'd been there though, and it doesn't." Zack's voice was sharp now. "The darkness makes you think you're strong, but really all it does it block everything out. People aren't meant to exist like that. We need to have a balance. Once you get completely taken over by it, there's no turning back." He'd been lucky that Terra had saved him when he had, he didn't liken to think of what would have happened if he hadn't.

"So I did the only thing I could do and challenged him. I wanted to prove he was wrong, but it wasn't easy, and I'm not sure how I managed to make it out alive, but I wounded him enough to cause a retreat." When Sephiroth could have killed him at the last moment, he'd turned away and retreated for whatever reason. He had a feeling it wasn't out of guilt.

No, it was more like he had been playing some kind of game, testing him, gauging his limit's and capacities.

It was a frightening thought that he didn't dare entertain much longer.

"Hey." Zack grinned. "No worries, this time, I could totally take him and win!"  
As if to test his claims, the sky darkened ominously, thick black clouds gathering and hanging heavy in the sky.

"This…" Cloud murmured in quiet horror, his blue eyes. It was the same feeling that had permeated the air in his child hood, just before the fall of radiant garden. It was the end of a world. ' I had thought there were more and more heartless lately, but…I didn't imagine this.' He thought miserably, springing to his feet. "Zack…"

"Already on it." The other boy stated, slinging his sword onto his back. "It looks like its starting in town." He stated, sprinting towards the vortex. "We might be able to stop it." The very least they could do was hold off the first wave. "Ready for a trial by fire?" He spared a smile for his friend.

"Yeah..." Cloud replied thinly, his eyes never wavering from that dark swirl. There was no way he'd willingly let another world be destroyed like his had. Without even realizing it, his feet were flying across the ground right alongside Zack's.

He didn't know what awaited him at that dark epicenter, but he knew he had to go. Something was calling him there.

* * *

I got two reviews for the last chapter. How…dismal. I'm honestly thinking of up-rooting this and moving it to the FF7 category. It'd probably get better reviews, but at the same time everyone would lose their alerts, and the reviews that have already been made. I'd rather not do that…

I dunno know if I mentioned this earlier, but when I was replaying KH2 I realized that at one point Tifa and Aerith are standing and walking around in circles right across from one another in the shop Plaza.

A lot of the times, if you stand there long enough, it'll look like their looking at one another, but can't seem to say anything and then they go back to walking circles. It's pretty funny because in my head their having this horribly dramatic inner monologue about the other, working up the courage to say something, but can't. I'm funny like that.

In any case it's something I'm going have to go back and fix in the first few chapters', because I originally thought the only other person to have seen Tifa ( Sides Sora, Cloud and junk) was Squall.

For those of you who are going. "Now wait a sec Tsu!…I dun understand, I thought that…: _insert issue here_." I know. I'm gonna attempt to answer most of your niggling little questions, or at least the ones I think your thinking of, but I would suggest asking them in your reviews, because what I think you might be wondering, might not actually be what your confused about.

Man, I love writing Zack and Cloud Bromance. It makes me sad it's about to end. That and the angst is about to begin.

Procris and the Cadmean fox is actually much different in mythology then what I portrayed here ( It's disney-fied.) Procris originally owned Lealaps who was the dog that was destined to capture whatever it chased, while the fox was never destined to be caught. Because of this paradox, Zues turned them into stars. For those of you curious, later the Procris in this version receives a dog who spends it days entertaining Sian and they save some kids and are placed in the stars as heroes.


End file.
